Battle of Tetovo

Battle of Tetovo
Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

Clockwise from top: NLA insurgents getting disarmed during Operation Essential Harvest in the end of the battle; NLA insurgents in the hills above Tetovo; Macedonian soldiers patrol cars Infront of the city stadium; Macedonian soldiers during the battle; Macedonian T-55 tank during the battle.
Date16 March–13 August 2001
(4 months and 4 weeks)
Location
Result See aftermath
Belligerents
 Macedonia National Liberation Army  NATO
Commanders and leaders
North Macedonia Boris Trajkovski
North Macedonia Ljubčo Georgievski
North Macedonia Pande Petrovski
North Macedonia Ljube Boškoski
Gëzim Ostreni
Rahim Beqiri 
Hamdi Nëdrecaj
Samidin Xhezairi
NATOUnited Kingdom George Robertson
NATOItaly Guido Venturoni
Units involved
NATOGermany 2 armored companies
NATOGermany 1 logistic unit
Strength
North Macedonia 10,000+[4]
North Macedonia 20-30 tanks[5]
North Macedonia 8+ APCs
North Macedonia 1+ Mi-17 helicopter
North Macedonia 2 Mi-24 helicopters (operated by Ukrainian mercenary pilots)
2,500–3,000[6] NATO 4,800+[4]
NATO 2+ tanks
Casualties and losses
North Macedonia 34 killed[7][8]
North Macedonia 24 wounded
North Macedonia 1 armoured vehicle destroyed
North Macedonia 1 BTR captured
North Macedonia 1 truck destroyed
North Macedonia 1 Mi-17 helicopter crashed
1 killed[9]
7 wounded[9]
NATOGermany 1 wounded
25+ civilians killed
20+ civilians kidnapped

The Battle of Tetovo (Macedonian: Битка за Тетово, romanizedBitka za Tetovo, Albanian: Beteja e Tetovës), was the largest engagement during the 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia, in which Macedonian security forces battled the National Liberation Army (NLA) for control of the city.

  1. ^ Jeffries, Ian (16 May 2002). The Former Yugoslavia at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century: A Guide to the Economies in Transition. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-46050-2. 'Two Mi-24 helicopters flown by Ukrainian pilots ... blasted the hillside [above Tetovo] with rockets' The helicopters [were] a gift from Ukraine'
  2. ^ Petersen, Roger D. (30 September 2011). Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-50330-3.
  3. ^ John Phillips (2004). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. Yale University Press. p. 86. ISBN 0300102682.
  4. ^ a b Issues: The 2001 Conflict
  5. ^ Воздушная война в Югославии. Часть 3 // Уголок неба : авиационная энциклопедия. — 2004.
  6. ^ The Europa World Year Book. London: Europa Publications. 2004. p. 2708. ISBN 1-85743-253-3. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Macedonian policeman shot by sniper". The Irish Times.
  8. ^ „Татковино, за што загинавме?“, Македонска книга 2002
  9. ^ a b Kriegsgefahr: Ausgangssperre über Tetovo verhängt – Spiegel Online – Nachrichten – Politik. Spiegel.de (18 March 2001). Retrieved on 19 October 2010.