The Tearce attack was an attack carried out by the National Liberation Army on a Macedonian police station in

Tearce Tearce ( , ) is a village located 12 km to the northeast of Tetovo, in northwestern North Macedonia, about 15 kilometres from the border with Kosovo. It is a seat of the Tearce municipality. Population 3,974 (2002). The B-405 road connects it ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. This attack marked the beginning of the

2001 insurgency in Macedonia The 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanians in North Macedonia, Albanian National Liberation Army (North Macedonia), National Liberation Army (NLA) insurgent group, formed from veter ...

. As a result of the attack, one police officer was killed and three others were injured and the NLA captured Tearce.

Attack

The attack took place on 22 January 2001, on a Monday at 2:00 AM in the village of

, which is inhabited largely by

ethnic Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, and they also live in the neighboring countries of Nort ...

. During the attack, three or four NLA militants armed with a Chinese rocket launcher and two Kalashnikovs attacked a Macedonian police station. The militants killed the police officer Momir Stojanovski in the attack, who was killed by the RPG grenade, while three other policemen were seriously injured. The injuries were believed to have been sustained from the two grenades fired at the station.

Aftermath

The NLA claimed responsibility for the attack. After the attack in Tearce, the village was held by the NLA. However, Macedonian police reported that the militants operated independently. Police spokesman

Stevo Pendarovski Stevo Pendarovski (, ; born 3 April 1963) is a Macedonian politician who served as the President of North Macedonia from 2019 to 2024. Early life and education Stevo Pendarovski was born on 3 April 1963 in Skopje. His family originates from Gal ...

reported, "These extreme radical individuals are not part of an organised group." The attack in Tearce resulted in the beginning of the insurgency. It was designated as a terrorist attack by the Macedonian

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

References

{{reflist 2001 insurgency in Macedonia