Insurgency in The Republic of Macedonia - Fighting in Tetovo

Fighting in Tetovo

In the middle of March, NLA forces reappeared in the hills above Tetovo, a key northwest Macedonian town with an ethnic Albanian majority. The insurgents fired down on Macedonian positions using rifles, machine guns and mortars. At that point the NLA controlled at least seven villages to the north and west of Tetovo, all of which were up in the mountains and easily defensible.

Tensions soared further in Tetovo, when on 22 March 2001 two Albanian men, a father and a son, were shot dead during a routine search at a police checkpoint. The incident began when the car was stopped and a police officer saw the younger Albanian move something in his pocket, the officer claimed that it was a grenade, after which he ran and panicked. The Albanian dropped to his knees and threw the grenade in the direction of the running policeman. It landed at his feet but failed to explode. At the moment the grenade was thrown, a cordon of Macedonian troops, positioned behind sandbags, unleashed a volley of gunfire at the Albanian. At first he slumped against the car, then fell on the kerb, dead. Moments later the father was also shot as he tried to run from the car.

The NLA units’ strategic position allowed them to have an overview of the town. The front line between the NLA and the Macedonian security forces expanded along the wooded hills adjacent to the city center to the north. The same day a front opened in Tetovo, the NLA took control of the medieval city fortress north of the city center, and started shooting at police stationed in the urban areas. After the initial clash, the Macedonian police pushed the NLA out of Tetovo and captured the medieval fortress. The NLA were pushed back into the surrounding hills, where several houses were reportedly burning. Medical officials said one person was killed and at least 14 injured, including 11 police officers.

The government issued an ultimatum asking the National Liberation Army to lay down their arms and leave the country, or face a full-scale offensive. The NLA rejected the ultimatum, announced a unilateral ceasefire, and called for political dialogue. In response, President Trajkovski claimed that the government first had to “neutralize the terrorist threat”, but agreed to start a political dialogue with legitimate Albanian political parties in Macedonia.

Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski declared in a televised speech to the nation that he would not negotiate with "terrorists". He rebuked the United States and Germany, whose troops patrol the border from the Kosovo side as part of NATO's contingent there, for not doing enough to stop the rebels. Georgievski accused NATO of "creating a new Taliban in Europe" and allowing Albanian extremists to operate out of UN administered Kosovo.