Vaksince offensive
| Vaksince Offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Macedonia war | |||||||
  Vaksince Vaksince offensive (North Macedonia) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Macedonia |
 NLA | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Boris Trajkovski Ljubčo Georgievski Pande Petrovski Ljube Boškoski |
Ali Ahmeti Fadil Nimani | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Macedonian Army Macedonian Police |
114 Brigade | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
2 soldiers killed 1 captured[6](later released)[7] | unknown | ||||||
The Vaksince Offensive was a military operation[8] launched by the Macedonian army against Albanian insurgents belonging to the NLA, who killed two of its soldiers in an overnight ambush in the region.[8]
On the 3th May 2001 Macedonian army helicopters and mortars opened fire on NLA positions near Vaksince after the NLA captured one Macedonian soldier in order to pressure the civilian population into leaving for an upcoming offensive.[3][1]
The Macedonian government accused the NLA of using the population as a human shield in order to stop the offensive.[3][1][2]It was unclear if the villagers in Vaksince were forced to stay or if they stayed to support the NLA, in at least one village the civilians were used as human shields by the hardliners as NLA gunmen in the village vowed not to leave a chicken leave the village.The British ambassador severely criticized the actions of the NLA.[1] In response to the shelling the NLA called for a ceasefire.[2]
The Macedonian soldier who was captured was later released. Operation Vaksince would start on May 25th.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d "Macedonia strikes at rebels". The Guardian. Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Macedonia attacks rebel forces". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "FYR of Macedonia: Impunity threatens lasting peace - Dark days in Tetovo". ReliefWeb. OCHA. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Macedonia seizes rebel villages". Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "Macedonia targets rebel stronghold". BBC News. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ "Уште двајца убиени војници, еден киднапиран, АРМ удри по терористите кои прогласија слободна територија". Вест. 2001-05-04. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ "Важно Горан жив и здрав ни се врати дома". Вест. 2001-05-24. Archived from the original on 2017-05-30. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ a b "Macedonia army begins offensive". 2001-05-03. Retrieved 2022-04-25.