Operation Alba ("Sunrise" or "Dawn" in Italian) was a multinational peacekeeping force sent to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

in 1997. Led by

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, it was intended to help the Albanian government restore law and order during the

Albanian Civil War The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...

.Operation Alba
on the UN website, accessed 2012 November Beginning in early 1997, the Albanian government lost control of much of their country, culminating in the desertion of many police and military units and the looting of their armories. The resulting chaos caused several countries to autonomously evacuate their nationals from Albania, which prompted concerns about the fate of others. The

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

consequently adopted Resolution 1101 to establish an operation that would stabilize the situation. The Italian 3rd Army Corps assumed responsibility for the stop-gap mission as Operation Alba, the first multinational Italian-led mission since World War II. The eleven nations that participated in this operation were Austria (60 troops), Belgium (15), Denmark (110), France (950), Greece (800 or 803), Italy (3800), Portugal, Romania (400), Slovenia (20), Spain (350) and Turkey (760). "This operation,in which 11 European countries took part"

Causes of the intervention

Operation Alba was launched in response to the serious social crisis that had followed the collapse of major

pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly i ...

s in

in early 1997. The loss of many Albanians' life savings invested in these schemes, in addition to dissatisfaction with political corruption and recent electoral irregularities, caused large parts of the country to rise in rebellion against the Albanian government. As governmental control and rule of law collapsed, widespread looting and violence broke out. Early operations were carried out by individual countries to evacuate their citizens, but Alba was launched in an effort to resolve more extensive issues.

in particular was determined to curb the migratory flow of Albanian refugees that threatened to reach alarming dimensions. Disaster struck on 28 March, when the Italian patrol vessel ''Sybilla'' collided with a refugee boat. Dozens of Albanian migrants perished, in what became known as the Tragedy of Otranto. Expecting the possibility of having to resort to force to restore order in Albania, Italy took care to acquire a mandate of the United Nations, the support of the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

, and the participation of a number of allies; when this was accomplished, Operation Alba was launched.

Operations in Albania

Beginning on April 15, 7,265 troops were deployed under the command of the operation - of which more than half were Italian nationals - and quickly restored order in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. The primary objectives of the mission included apprehending criminals and collecting looted weapons, but in later months operation troops also helped retrain Albanian forces to modern standards. Operation Alba finally concluded in August, as the last troops were withdrawn from the country.

References

External links

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Contribution of the Hellenic Army in Operation Alba
Albanian Civil War {{mil-hist-stub United Nations operations in Europe