Battle of Vaksince

Battle of Vaksince
Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
Date3 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, but still the majority of the village was under government control[5]
  • NLA militants finally recaptured the village on 6 June[6]
Belligerents
North Macedonia Macedonia[1] National Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Boris Trajkovski
North Macedonia Ljubčo Georgievski
Army of the Republic of Macedonia Pande Petrovski
Law enforcement in the Republic of Macedonia Ljube Boškoski		 Fadil Nimani †[7][8]
Nazim Bushi[9]
Naim Alili
Nazmi Sulejmani
Hajrulla Misini
Units involved
 114th Brigade
113th Brigade "Ismet Jashari"
Strength
Army of the Republic of Macedonia 2 Mi-24 helicopters[11]
Army of the Republic of Macedonia 3 T-55 tanks[12]		 50 militants[13]
Casualties and losses
Army of the Republic of Macedonia 2 killed[2]
Army of the Republic of Macedonia 4 wounded[14][15]
Army of the Republic of Macedonia 1 captured[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]

  1. ^ "Macedonia targets rebel stronghold". BBC News. 26 May 2001. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Brussels, Nicholas Wood in Kumanovo Macedonia, and agencies in (4 May 2001). "Macedonia strikes at rebels". the Guardian. Archived 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. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b Archives, L. A. Times (26 May 2001). "Rebels Forced From Sites, Macedonia Says". Los Angeles Times. Archived 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. Archived 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. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Убиен Фадил Лимани, командант на терористите за Куманово". 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. ^ "Уште двајца убиени војници, еден киднапиран, АРМ удри по терористите кои прогласија слободна територија". Вест. 5 May 2001. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Macedonian rebels under fire". News24. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. ^ "CNN.com - Macedonia attacks rebel bases - May 24, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Archived 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. Archived 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. Archived 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). Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Dëshmorët" (PDF). Archived (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. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Solana breaks Macedonia deadlock". BBC. 29 May 2001. Archived 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. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)