page_title: 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
section_title: Fighting in Kumanovo
hierarchical_section_title: 2001 insurgency in Macedonia / Fighting in Kumanovo
caption_attribution_description: English: Near Matejce, Kumanovo with Slavomakedonian special police. Policemen in black are "Tiger" and in green "Lions" unit. Policeman in first row holding Zastava M76 sniper rifle.
context_page_description: The 2001 insurgency in Macedonia was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army militant group, formed from veterans of the Kosovo War and Insurgency in FR Yugoslavia, attacked Macedonian security forces at the beginning of February 2001, and ended with the Ohrid Agreement, signed on 13 August of that same year. There were also claims that the NLA ultimately wished to see Albanian-majority areas secede from the country, though high-ranking members of the group have denied this. The conflict lasted throughout most of the year, although overall casualties remained limited to several dozen individuals on either side, according to sources from both sides of the conflict. With it, the Yugoslav Wars had reached previously peaceful Macedonia, which had achieved a peaceful independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
context_section_description: In the beginning of May 2001, a large group of NLA rebels infiltrated Macedonia from Kosovo and set up bases in several villages to the north of Kumanovo. This armed group of NLA insurgents, known as the "113 Brigade of the NLA", was led by the Kosovo Albanian Fadil Nimani.
  On 3 May, the NLA launched another ambush on Macedonian security forces in Vaksince, near Kumanov, and killed two Macedonian soldiers and kidnapped a third. The three soldiers were on a border patrol which was returning from routine duty when it was ambushed near the village. State radio said that the rebels had claimed the area around Vakcince as their "liberated zone".
  On the same day, the Macedonian security council decided to engage in a new offensive against the NLA to drive them out of their strongholds in the villages north of Kumanovo. People in the villages held by the NLA were given until 15:00 to evacuate before Macedonian security forces would launch their offensive. Army spokesman Gjordji Trendafilov told the Associated Press that the NLA were holding thousands of villagers as human shields. The offensive started with the shelling of selected targets in Vaksince by military helicopters and field artillery.
  In the next several days, Macedonian security forces shelled NLA positions in the villages of Slupcane, Orizari and Otlja. Afterwards, Macedonian police and infantry units advanced. On 7 May 2001, Macedonian Army officials announced that in the previous three days the Macedonian security forces had managed to destroy fourteen NLA entrenched positions, eight machine-gun bunkers, seven sniper nests, six control points, three arms storage facilities, and one mortar position. Army officials also stressed that during the operations only selected targets were being hit, in order to avoid civilian casualties and unnecessary material damage.
  The most intensive clashes occurred during the first week of the offensive in Kumanovo, on 8 May 2001, at the entrance to the village of Slupcane. Army infantry launched an onslaught, causing insurgents to leave their positions and retreat towards Vaksince. Army helicopters then intercepted them with machine-gun fire and inflicted heavy casualties. That same day, a position of twenty NLA insurgents was destroyed by the Macedonian Army in the "Mining colony" that was located close to Lojane.
  On 25 May 2001, Macedonian security forces launched the long-awaited general offensive against the NLA in Kumanovo. Fighting continued into the next day and turned into urban warfare. 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 unit called the "Tigers", who specialised in urban counter-guerrilla fighting, was also deployed. After two weeks of heavy fighting, on 26 May 2001 the Macedonian security forces recaptured Vaksince and Lojane. During the battle for Vaksince, Macedonian forces killed Fadil Nimani, chief commander of the NLA in Kumanovo.
  Macedonian troops continued their offensive towards the NLA strongholds of Slupcane and Matejce, both about thirty kilometres northeast of the capital Skopje. After several clashes in which the NLA insurgents were defeated, on 29 May 2001, Macedonian police and army units entered the village of Matejce. While searching the houses, the police found weapons and military equipment. The police also discovered a system of tunnels which provided connection between several houses. After the Macedonian security forces captured Matejce, the NLA initiated a coordinated attack on the village from the directions of Otlja, Orizare and Slupcane. The insurgents were firing machine-guns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and rocket propelled grenades".
  During the next two days, Macedonian security forces carried out an offensive towards Slupcane, which was shelled on a daily basis. In the meantime, there was news that there was renewed fighting in the villages north of Tetovo, more than a month after the Macedonian security forces crushed the rebels in an offensive in Marc
caption: Macedonian police near Matejce in Kumanovo. Special police in black are members of the "Tiger" unit and the special police in green are members of the "Lions" unit.
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