page_title: 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
section_title: Ceasefire and disarmament
hierarchical_section_title: 2001 insurgency in Macedonia / Aftermath / Ceasefire and disarmament
caption_attribution_description: English: Monument of the Defenders of MacedoniaМакедонски: Споменик на бранителите на МакедонијаБългарски: Паметник на бранителите на МакедонияСрпски / srpski: Споменик бранитељима МакедонијеHrvatski: Spomenik braniteljima MakedonijeРусский: Памятник защитникам МакедонииShqip: Monument i mbrojtësve të MaqedonisëFrançais&#160;: Monument des défenseurs de la MacédoineБеларуская: Помнік абаронцам МакедонііУкраїнська: Пам'ятник захисникам МакедоніїRomână: Monumentul a apărătorilor din MacedoniaDeutsch: Denkmal der Verteidiger von MazedonienItaliano: Monumento dei difensori della MacedoniaEesti: Monumendi kaitsjate MakedooniaEspañol: Monumento a los Defensores de Macedonia
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: After the Ohrid Agreement, the rebels agreed to a ceasefire in June, however there were other agreements in August, before both sides settled on a final one in January 2002. Under the Ohrid Agreement, the Macedonian government pledged to improve the rights of Albanians in the country. Those rights included making Albanian the second official language, and increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government institutions, the police, and the army. Most importantly, under the Ohrid Agreement, the Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization.
  The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully recognize all Macedonian institutions. In addition, according to this agreement, the NLA was to disarm and hand over its weapons to NATO.
  Operation "Essential Harvest" was officially launched on 22 August and effectively started on 27 August. This 30-day mission involved approximately 3,500 NATO and Macedonian troops, whose objective was to disarm the NLA and to destroy their weapons. Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation, Ali Ahmeti told reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Šipkovica, that he was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic reconciliation.
  Several months after the end of the conflict, some armed provocations persisted. Small bombings and shootings occurred. The most serious provocations happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by ethnic Albanian gunmen on 12 November 2001.
caption: Monument of the Defenders of Macedonia.
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