Operation Vaksince
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A military engagement between the Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents belonging to the NLA occurred in the village of
Vaksince Vaksince (, ) is a village in the municipality of Lipkovo, North Macedonia. History Vaksince, like the whole region of Macedonia, belonged to the Ottoman Empire for centuries. When it fell apart at the beginning of the 20th century, Albania ga ...
, which was at the time launching a campaign of guerrilla attacks against facilities of the
Macedonian Government Politics in North Macedonia occur within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Leg ...
, the
Macedonian Police Law enforcement in North Macedonia is the responsibility of the Police of the Republic of North Macedonia (). The police headquarters are located in Skopje at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and also maintain an air base in nearby Idrizovo. ...
force, and the
Macedonian Armed Forces The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia (, ARSM) is the military of North Macedonia. The army is organized, prepared and trained to conduct armed struggle and combat and other actions to achieve its constitutional function of defending the ...
.


Timeline


NLA attack and Macedonian counter-offensive

On 3 May, the NLA launched an attack on Macedonian security forces in Vaksince, near Kumanovo, killing two Macedonian soldiers and kidnapping a third. The NLA then went on to occupy the village and declared the area in and around Vaksince as a "liberated zone"."Macedonia attacks rebel forces"
CNN World. 3 May 2001
On the same day, Macedonian forces decided to launch a counter-offensive to reclaim the village seized by the NLA. Macedonian forces began the offensive with helicopter gunships and artillery that fired on and around the village of Vaksince. Macedonian Army officials claimed to have managed to destroy fourteen NLA entrenched positions, eight machine-gun bunkers, seven
sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...
nests, six control points, three arms storage facilities, and one
mortar Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
position during the offensive. During the offensive 3 Macedonian soldiers were wounded. The NLA also claimed to have shot down one MI-24 attack helicopter. Army spokesman Gjorgji Trendafilov told the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
that the NLA was holding thousands of villagers as human shields. This was denied by the NLA, who also accused government forces of indiscriminate attacks against Albanian civilians.


Second Macedonian counter-offensive

On 24 May 2001, Macedonian security forces launched another general offensive against the NLA in Kumanovo. Fighting continued into the next day and turned into
urban warfare Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...
. The police and army infantry had to fight for every house in the large villages of Vaksince and Lojane, two NLA strongholds, as the NLA resisted fiercely. A
special police Special police usually describes a law enforcement agency or unit within a such an agency whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same nation, jurisdiction, or from other personnel within the same agen ...
unit called the "Tigers", who specialised in urban counter-guerrilla fighting, was also deployed. On 26 May, NLA rebels withdrew to the hills around Vaksince. With the withdrawal of the NLA, the Macedonian security forces moved in and recaptured Vaksince."Macedonian forces take villages"
CNN World. 26 May 2001
Fadil Nimani the main commander of the NLA in the Kumanovo region, together with his deputy commander, were killed in battle, while one Macedonian policeman was wounded. Senior
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
sources confirmed that after the killing of Fadil Nimani, there were a lot of desertions into the ranks of the NLA militants. After the battle the Macedonian government security forces had seized weapons, ammunition and sanitary materials that the militants had left behind. The Macedonian government said that its security forces had dismantled a group of around 50 NLA militants in Vaksince.


NLA counter-offensive

While the Macedonian Army captured Vaksince on 26 May, the NLA regained territory in Vaksince within three days. On 6 June, the NLA retook Vaksince, Gjorgji Trendafilov denied that the army had been forced out and claimed that there were no "terrorists" in Vaksince and that the army was still in its positions. Nevertheless, the Macedonian army shelled Vaksince on 6 June, setting a house on fire, which according to
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
would have been unlikely if they still had occupied the area. The claims of Gjorgji Trendafilov as well as other government officials, that claimed, that they had Vaksince under their control, were proven to be false by independent observers as well as the NLA itself. The Vaksince mosque's minaret was demolished from shelling. On 7 June, Hysamedin Halili (then Mayor of the
Lipkovo Municipality Lipkovo (, ) is a municipality in the north part of North Macedonia. '' Lipkovo'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Lipkovo Municipality is part of the Northeastern Statistical Region. Geography The municipality ...
) confirmed that the NLA recaptured Vaksince.


Personnel killed in the battle


NLA personnel

* Fadil Nimani high NLA commander. * Zaim Zeqiri insurgent.


Macedonian personnel

* Vlatko Petrov professional soldier. * Dimitar Dvojakovski professional soldier.


Aftermath

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
concluded that Macedonian forces were arresting and beating Albanian civilians during and after their offensive from 24 to 26 May 2001. According to the NLA, Macedonian forces attempted to raid Vaksince in October, but were stopped by them.


See also

*
Battle of Lojane A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaksince Kumanovo Municipality Lipkovo Municipality 2001 insurgency in Macedonia Battles in 2001