Operation MH

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. The goal of the operation was to dislodge the NLA forces which were entrenched in Tetovo and the hills and villages in its vicinity.[9]

Operation MH
Part of the insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia
Date25-27 March 2001
Location
Tetovo, Brodec, Gajre, Šipkovica, Lisec, Džepčište, Popova Šapka, Ǵermo, Republic of Macedonia
Result

Macedonian victory[1] [2]

  • Macedonian forces continue their counter-insurgency campaign; Operation MH-1, launched
Territorial
changes		 Macedonian forces rout Albanian rebels and regain control over all of Tetovo-held NLA territory at that time[3][4] [5] [6] [7]
Belligerents
 Macedonia National Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Boris Trajkovski
Ljubčo Georgievski
Army of the Republic of Macedonia Pande Petrovski		 Gëzim Ostreni
Samidin Xhezairi
Rahim Beqiri
Hamdi Ndrecaj
Units involved
Army of the Republic of Macedonia Macedonian Army
Macedonian police		 112th Brigade
Strength
Army of the Republic of Macedonia 200+ soldiers[8] Unknown
Casualties and losses
Army of the Republic of Macedonia Unknown Unknown

Prelude

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[10]

Execution of the Operation MH

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.[11][12] 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[13]

See also

References
  1. Finn, Peter. "Albanian Guerrillas Retreat After Macedonian Offensive". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. Boudreaux, Richard. "Both Sides in Macedonia Hold Out Hope for Peaceful End". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  3. Finn, Peter. "Albanian Guerrillas Retreat After Macedonian Offensive". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. Boudreaux, Richard. "Both Sides in Macedonia Hold Out Hope for Peaceful End". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  5. Boudreaux, Richard. "Rebels Lose Strongholds in Army Assault". Los Angeles Times.
  6. Gall, Carlotta. "Village That Rebels Held Is Suddenly Almost Empty". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. De Breadun, Deaglan. "Skopje assault results in fiercest fighting to date". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  8. De Breadun, Deaglan. "Skopje assault results in fiercest fighting to date". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  9. "Macedonia troops launch offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels". Seacoastonline. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  10. "Macedonia police move into hills to fight rebels". Associated Press. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  11. Hundley, Tom. "MACEDONIA ARMY TAKES REBEL ZONE". Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  12. Kirka, Danica. "Macedonia troops launch offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels". Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  13. Finn, Peter. "Albanian Guerrillas Retreat After Macedonian Offensive". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.