Battle of Vaksince

Battle of Vaksince
Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
Date 3 May 2001 – 6 June 2001 Location Vaksince, Lipkovo, Macedonia Result NLA victory Territorial changes NLA captured Vaksince on 3 May 2001^[2] Macedonian forces initially regained control over Vaksince on 26 May 2001^[3]^[4] NLA recaptured parts of the village on 28 May,^[5] and recaptured the village on 6 June^[6]
Belligerents
Macedonia^[1]	National Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Boris Trajkovski Ljubčo Georgievski Pande Petrovski Ljube Boškoski	Fadil Nimani †^[7]^[8] Nazim Bushi^[9] Naim Alili Nazmi Sulejmani Hajrulla Misini
Units involved
Macedonian Army  Macedonian Police Scorpions^[10]	114th Brigade 113th Brigade "Ismet Jashari"
Strength
2 Mi-24 helicopters^[11] 3 T-55 tanks^[12]	50 militants^[13]
Casualties and losses
2 killed^[2] 4 wounded^[14]^[15] 1 POW^[2]	2 killed^[16] 1 seriously wounded^[17]
12,000 ethnic Albanian civilians displaced^[18]^[4] 9,500 fled to Kosovo 2,500 fled to Serbia

The Battle of Vaksince was a military engagement between the Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents belonging to the NLA, which was at the time launching a campaign of guerrilla attacks against facilities of the Macedonian Government, the Macedonian Police force, and the Macedonian Armed Forces.^[19][20]

Timeline

NLA attack and Macedonian counter-offensive

On 3 May, the NLA launched an attack on Macedonian security forces in Vaksince, near Kumanovo, killing two Macedonian soldiers and kidnapping a third.^[21][2][22] The NLA then went on to occupy the village and declared the area in and around Vaksince as a "liberated zone".^[23][2]

On the same day, Macedonian forces decided to launch a counter-offensive to reclaim the village seized by the NLA.^[2][24][25] Macedonian forces began the offensive with helicopter gunships and artillery that fired on and around the village of Vaksince.^[26]

Macedonian Army officials claimed to have 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 during the offensive.^[27] During the offensive 3 Macedonian soldiers were wounded. The NLA also claimed to have shot down one MI-24 attack helicopter.^[14]

Army spokesman Gjorgji Trendafilov told the Associated Press that the NLA was holding thousands of villagers as human shields.^[23] This was denied by the NLA, who also accused government forces of indiscriminate attacks against Albanian civilians.^[28][29]

Second Macedonian offensive

On 24 May 2001, Macedonian security forces launched another general offensive against the NLA in Kumanovo.^[30] 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.^[31] On 26 May, NLA rebels withdrew to the hills around Vaksince.^[32] With the withdrawal of the NLA, the Macedonian security forces moved in and recaptured Vaksince.^[33] During the clashes, Fadil Nimani, main commander of the NLA in Vaksince, fell in battle, while one Macedonian police officer was wounded.^[15]

NLA counter-offensive

While the Macedonian Army captured Vaksince on 26 May, the NLA regained territory in Vaksince within three days.^[5] On 6 June, the NLA retook Vaksince,^[34][35] Gjorgji Trendafilov denied that the army had been forced out and claimed that there were no "terrorists" in Vaksince and that the army was still in its positions.^[34] Nevertheless, the Macedonian army shelled Vaksince on 6 June, setting a house on fire, which according to CNN would have been unlikely if they still had occupied the area.^[34] The claims of Gjorgji Trendafilov as well as other Macedonians, that claimed, that they had Vaksince under their control, were proven to be false by independent observers as well as the NLA itself.^[36] The Vaksince mosque's minaret was demolished from shelling.^[37][38]

On 7 June, Hysamedin Halili (then Mayor of the Lipkovo Municipality) confirmed that the NLA recaptured Vaksince.^[39]

Personnel killed in the battle

NLA personnel

• Fadil Nimani high NLA commander.^[40]
• Zaim Zeqiri insurgent.^[41]

Macedonian personnel

• Vlatko Petrov professional soldier.^[42]
• Dimitar Dvojakovski professional soldier.^[43]

Aftermath

Human Rights Watch concluded that Macedonian forces were arresting and beating Albanian civilians during and after their offensive from 24 to 26 May 2001.^[44]

According to the NLA, Macedonian forces attempted to raid Vaksince in October, but were stopped by them.^[45]

See also

• Battle of Lojane

References

1. "Macedonia targets rebel stronghold". BBC News. 26 May 2001. from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
2. Brussels, Nicholas Wood in Kumanovo Macedonia, and agencies in (4 May 2001). "Macedonia strikes at rebels". the Guardian. from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. "Macedonia seizes rebel villages". The Irish Times. from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
4. Archives, L. A. Times (26 May 2001). "Rebels Forced From Sites, Macedonia Says". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
5. Terzieff, Juliette (13 June 2001). "Rebels humiliate Macedonian army / Kosovo veterans close to capital". SFGATE. from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023. Government forces have been able to claim few successes in the conflict. When they drove the NLA out of the village of Vaksince two weeks ago, it took less than three days for the rebels to regain a foothold.
6. "CNN.com - NATO slams Macedonia rebel attacks - June 7, 2001". edition.cnn.com. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
7. . Вест. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
8. "Komandantët e UÇK-së, disa të vrarë, disa në arrati, shumica në poste"^{[permanent dead link]}. Lajm Maqedoni. 13 August 2010
9. http://ictytranscripts.dyndns.org/trials/boskoski_tarculovski/070925ED.htm^{[permanent dead link]}
10. . Вест. 5 May 2001. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
11. "Macedonian rebels under fire". News24. from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
12. "CNN.com - Macedonia attacks rebel bases - May 24, 2001". edition.cnn.com. from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
13. "Mazedonien: Offensive gegen Rebellen verschärft Krise". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
14. "Politik: Mazedonien: Albaner räumen umkämpfte Orte nicht". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
15. "Mazedonische Polizei erlangt Kontrolle über Vaksince und Lojane". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
16. "Dëshmorët" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
17. "22 vite nga rënia heroike e dëshmorit të parë nga komuna e Likovës (FOTO)". 3 May 2023.
18. "Macedonian rebels under fire". News24. from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
19. "Solana breaks Macedonia deadlock". BBC. 29 May 2001. from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
20. Brussels, Nicholas Wood in Kumanovo Macedonia, and agencies in (4 May 2001). "Macedonia strikes at rebels". the Guardian. from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
21. "Soldiers killed in Macedonia". CNN World. 3 May 2001
22. Daskalovski, Zidas (2004). (PDF). Centre for Post-Communist Studies, St. Francis Xavier University. pp. 8, 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
23. "Macedonia attacks rebel forces". CNN World. 3 May 2001
24. "Macedonia army begins offensive". 3 May 2001. from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
25. "Macedonia moves against rebels". CNN World. 3 May 2001
26. "Macedonia villagers caught in crossfire". 4 May 2001. from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
27. "Кумановски Фронт – Лабава офанзива или затишје пред бура?" 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 7 May 2001
28. . CNN. Archived from the original on 6 May 2001. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
29. Archives, L. A. Times (5 May 2001). "Offensive Against Rebels Continues". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
30. "АРМ конечно удри врз терористите" 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 25 May 2001
31. "Ваксинце се освојува куќа по куќа, жесток отпор од терористите" 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 26 May 2001
32. "Macedonia targets rebel stronghold". 26 May 2001. from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
33. "Macedonian forces take villages". CNN World. 26 May 2001
34. "CNN.com - NATO slams Macedonia rebel attacks - June 7, 2001". edition.cnn.com. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
35. "Verletzte bei Ausschreitungen in Mazedonien". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). 8 June 2001. ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 29 November 2023. Die militärische Lage im Land war unklar. Nach einigen Meldungen sind die albanischen Freischärler erneut in die Dörfer Vaksince und Matejce vorgedrungen, aus denen die Sicherheitskräfte sie zuvor vertrieben hatten, und bereiteten zudem einen Angriff auf Aracinovo vor, eine grosse Ortschaft nahe der Autobahn von Skopje zum Flughafen. Die politische Lage war ebenso unklar.
36. Rathfelder, Erich (8 June 2001). "Brennende Häuser in Bitola". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). p. 10. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 28 November 2023. Alle Siegesmeldungen der makedonischen Seite, sie hätten Vaksince und Slupcane in ihrer Hand, sind nach Angaben von Beobachtern und der UÇK falsch. [All reports of victory from the Macedonian side, claiming that they have Vaksince and Slupcane under their control, are false according to observers and the UÇK.]
37. "Rebels Battle Army in Macedonia".
38. "Ethnic Albanians Flee Drive By Macedonia Against Rebels". New York Times. 26 May 2001.
39. "Robertson: NATO, gati që të çarmatosë UÇK - Shqiptarja.com". shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
40. . Вест. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
41. "22 vite nga rënia heroike e dëshmorit të parë nga komuna e Likovës (FOTO)". 3 May 2023.
42. . Сител. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
43. . Сител. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
44. "Macedonian Police Abuses Documented. Human Rights Watch. 31 May 2001". phdn.org. from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
45. Griffin, David. "Ethnic Albanian rebels accept government-declared amnesty". www.newson6.com. from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.