Albanian National Army

The Albanian National Army (ANA; Albanian: Armata Kombëtare Shqiptare, AKSh), is an Albanian paramilitary organization which operates in North Macedonia, Serbia[lower-alpha 1] and Kosovo.[lower-alpha 2] The group opposes the Ohrid Framework Agreement which ended the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia between members of the National Liberation Army and Macedonian security forces.[11]

Not to be confused with Military of Albania.

Albanian National Army
LeadersAlban Parishi[1]
Wigan Gradica[2]
Avdil Jakupi Surrendered[3]
Agim Krasniqi[4][5]
Lirim Jakupi[6]
Ramadan Shiti †
Habit Ahmeti †
Fisnik Meti †
Dates of operation2001–present
Active regionsKosovo
Polog, North Macedonia,
Preševo Valley[7]
IdeologyAlbanian nationalism
Greater Albania
Size12,000+
AlliesKosovo Liberation Army emblem National Liberation Army
OpponentsNorth Macedonia Macedonia
Serbia Serbia
Montenegro Montenegro
KFOR KFOR
Battles and wars

History

It was formed in 2001 in Macedonia. The organization is associated with FBKSh (National Front for Reunification of Albanians), its political wing.

The ANA appeared in Kosovo in 2003, where on March 7, two members trying to detonate a bomb were shot and killed by Serbian police.[12] In 2007, a video was aired by Kosovar television stations depicting a band of medium-armed, masked individuals intercepting cars. In October 2007 the unit declared it would seize the Serb exclave of North Kosovo by force if the Kosovo Protection Force did not occupy it by November 1, 2007. The ANA has claimed that it is patrolling North Kosovo to prevent incursions by the Tsar Lazar Guard.[13]

In early November 2007, insurgents of the "Political Advisory Body of the Kosovo Liberation Army" suffered a minor crackdown, dubbed Operation Mountain Storm by the Macedonian armed forces in north-western Macedonia. According to Macedonian authorities; six members of the KLA were killed.[14]

On November 13, 2007, a video was aired to the public, an exclusive interview with a leader of the ANA patrolling in the covert areas of North Kosovo, recruiting 20 new men. The leader stated that ANA stands at 12,000 men altogether and has called the Kosovar population for a boycott of then-forthcoming elections.

The ANA had committed an attack on April 29, 2010, on the border between Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia, in which a Macedonian policeman was killed. In the skirmish, one ANA fighter was injured.[15]

In the year of 2015 the group has been removed from the list of terrorist groups.[16] Despite this, in 2016 Albanian militiamen presenting themselves as the "21st Brigade" published a video showing their weapons and threatening to move through northern Albania and the Presevo Valley. They also mentioned that they had the support of the population and that they had hundreds of men.[17]

See also

Notes
  1. Only in the Preševo Valley
  2. During 2014, it declared that it would intervene in northern Mitrovica

References
  1. "Ответственность за убийство полицейских и захват заложников в Македонии взяла на себя "Албанская национальная армия"". В Мире (in Russian). NEWSru.com. November 12, 2001. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  2. "Албанские экстремисты угрожают миротворцам". Хроника событий (in Russian). ТерроруНЕТ. October 5, 2003. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  3. "Экстремистские силы албанцев на севере Македонии мобилизуют свои силы". September 2, 2003.
  4. "Ex-Guerrilla Arrested in Macedonia Vote Violence - Europe - Around the globe - World". Dalje.com. June 1, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  5. "Macedonian News: Attempt at Agim Krasniqi's life reported". Vmacedonianews.com. July 17, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  6. "Notorious Balkans criminal 'Nazi' Arrested in Kosovo". Balkan Insight. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  7. In 2015 have been published some videos where they are seen being trained
  8. "Macedonia - defense: Buckovski: "Let tragedy be the beginning of the end of the war"". Relief.web. August 10, 2001. Retrieved June 26, 2022. "ANA" CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING OF TEN MACEDONIAN SOLDIERS Skopje, August 10 - A new armed group of ethnic Albanians on Thursday claimed responsibility for the killing of ten Macedonian army reservists in a highway ambush a day earlier. The "Albanian National Army" (AKSH) e-mailed a statement to several media in the region, on Albanian-language, saying a combined unit of its fighters and of the so-called National Liberation Army (NLA) carried the attack out "in revenge" for the killing of five NLA members by Macedonian security forces.
  9. "Rebels kill three policemen in Macedonia". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2022. In a statement yesterday, a dissident ethnic Albanian group calling itself the Albanian National Army claimed responsibility for the killings, saying: "The Skopje government is restarting its terror and sees war as the only response to Albanian demands."
  10. ""Albanische Nationalarmee" bekennt sich zu Anschlag im südserbischen Presevo-Tal – DW – 13.08.2003".
  11. "Albanian National Army (ANA)(AKSh)". Terrorism Research. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  12. Serbia and Montenegro: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2003 U.S. Department of State. February 25, 2004.
  13. Report: ANA paramilitaries patrolling northern Kosovo towns
  14. Mite, Valentinas (February 2, 2012). "Firefight Kills Eight In Macedonia Near Kosovo Border". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  15. "ONA odgovorna za pucnjavu u Makedoniji". Mondo Portal. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  16. ANA have been removed from terrorist list http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-Global-Terrorism-Index-Report.pdf
  17. "Terrorist Albanian National Army "appears" in Kosovo". B92,net. April 13, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
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