Operation MH
| Operation MH | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Macedonia |
 National Liberation Army | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Boris Trajkovski Ljubčo Georgievski Pande Petrovski Ljuben Paunovski |
Gëzim Ostreni Samidin Xhezairi Rahim Beqiri Hamdi Nëdrecaj | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
 Macedonian Army Macedonian police |
112th Brigade | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
200+ soldiers[5] |
Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
Unknown |
Unknown | ||||||||
Operation MH (Macedonian: Операција МХ) was the first major offensive by the combined forces of the Macedonian Army and police forces in the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia.[needs context] The goal of the operation was to dislodge the NLA forces which were entrenched in Tetovo and the hills and villages in its vicinity.[6]
Prelude
[edit]Weeks prior Albanian rebels had taken control of the Tetovo fortress and several villages in the Tetovo municipality where sporadic fighting occurred between Macedonian security forces and Albanian rebels. The government conducted so called "search and sweep operations" that lead to several arrests.[7]
Execution of the Operation MH
[edit]The operation started at 7am on 25 March with an hour long artillery barrage followed by Macedonian Army units moving in to encircle the villages held by the rebels. Helicopters covered the retreat and reinforcement routes that lead to Kosovo, during the first phase of the battle stiff resistance was encountered in the village of Gajre and Šipkovica which was overcome with the assistance of police special forces and fresh reserves. The fall of Šipkovica and Gajre opened the path for the capture of the Tetovo fortress which was accomplished by the Macedonian Special Forces.[8][9] According to Macedonian sources the rebels were fleeing in panic across the mountains leaving weapons and uniforms behind while Albanian sources called it a tactical retreat.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Finn, Peter (2001-03-27). "Albanian Guerrillas Retreat After Macedonian Offensive". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ a b Boudreaux, Richard. "Both Sides in Macedonia Hold Out Hope for Peaceful End". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ Boudreaux, Richard. "Rebels Lose Strongholds in Army Assault". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Gall, Carlotta. "Village That Rebels Held Is Suddenly Almost Empty". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ a b De Breadun, Deaglan. "Skopje assault results in fiercest fighting to date". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ Kirka, Danica (2001-03-26). "Macedonia troops launch offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels". Seacoastonline. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Macedonia police move into hills to fight rebels". Associated Press. 2001-03-22. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ Hundley, Tom. "MACEDONIA ARMY TAKES REBEL ZONE". Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ Kirka, Danica (2001-03-26). "Macedonia troops launch offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels". Retrieved 30 April 2022.