Balkans: March 26, 2001

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On March 22, Macedonian troops shot and killed two Albanian men after one of them tried to toss a grenade at Macedonian police in Tetovo. Another firefight was reported 12 kilometers west of Skopje. One Macedonian policeman was wounded by RPG fragments in that action. Another Macedonian policeman was shot and killed in Skopje. In the hills outside Tetovo, a 24-hour long ceasefire broke down as Macedonian forces used mortars to attack Albanian NLA rebel positions. Western journalists reported NLA sniper positions on the outskirts of Tetovo. Another reports said a Macedonian police position in the town of Gracane was hit by mortar fire. The report said the mortar rounds came from inside Kosovo. The same source said an NLA contingent of 50 men was operating around Gracane. There was no independent confirmation of this report. At dawn on March 23, Macedonian forces struck several NLA outposts in the Tetovo hills, using artillery and heavy machine guns. Fighting continued throughout the day. On March 24, Macedonian police attacked NLA positions outside the Tetovo suburb of Koltuk (north of Tetovo). On March 25, two Macedonian helicopters used rockets to attack rebel positions northwest of Tetovo. There were reports of another helicopter strike southwest of Tetovo. As the day progressed, Macedonian and rebel troops exchanged gunfire and artillery fire. The Macedonian Army then started a two-hour long barrage against rebel positions around Tetovo. In what Macedonian officials later described as the second phase of a two phase combat operation against the NLA around Tetovo, A Macedonian source also estimated NLA strength in the area at 500 to 1000 men. Western journalists reported a 250-man Macedonian special police unit, supported by two T-55 tanks and 12 armored personnel carriers, attacked NLA bunkers near the village of Gajre. Western journalists reported a 250-man Macedonian special police unit, supported by two T-55 tanks and 12 armored personnel carriers, attacked NLA bunkers near the village of Gajre. By the end of the day the Macedonian government claimed that six key villages --Gajre, Lavce, Lisec, Drenok, Teke and Selce -- were free of NLA guerrillas and that NLA positions near (in?) the medieval fortress of Kale were surrounded. (See report of March 23. Selce has served as a key NLA headquarters.) The positions at Kale were captured on the morning of March 26. Where did the NLA rebels go? Bet on Kosovo. (See Kosovo War report, March 27.)

 

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