Operation Mountain Storm
| Operation Mountain Storm | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location of "Operation Mountain Storm" | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Macedonia |
 Albanian National Army | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Branko Crvenkovski Nikola Gruevski Gordana Jankuloska |
Lirim Jakupi (WIA) Ramadan Shiti † Habit Ahmeti (POW) Fisnik Meti † Fatos Aliu Bekim Mehmeti † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
Jakupi Group | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
 Unknown number of policemen Unknown number of armoured vehicles[2] |
Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
None |
6 killed 11 wounded[2] 13 arrested[4] | ||||||||
Operation Mountain Storm (Macedonian: Операција Планинска бура) was carried out on 7 November 2007 by special police forces of the Republic of Macedonia against an armed ethnic Albanian group in the Šar Mountains of Brodec above Tetovo region with ties to Albanian paramilitary of the conflicts in Kosovo (1998–1999), Preševo Valley (2000–2001) and Macedonia (2001).
Background
[edit]In 2007, armed Albanian opposition groups effectively controlled areas near the border with Kosovo.[5] On 10 September an ethnic Albanian police commander and two police officers were wounded in Vaksince during an attempted arrest of Skender Halili and Xheladin Hiseni, two ethnic Albanians that were killed.[5]
The Jakupi group escaped from the Dubrava prison in August[5][6] with the help of "certain structures", in order to destabilize the region "should the Kosovo negotiations go in a direction these structures do not favor.", according to security services.[7] On 1 November one of the escapees, Xhavit Morina, former commander of Albanian National Army (AKSH), was killed by unknown perpetrators near Tetovo.[5] Jakupi, the leader, was wanted in Macedonia for launching a rocket at a police station, killing a taxi driver, and wounding three police officers, as well as for putting the village of Volkovo under siege and threatening to bomb Skopje.[7] Members of the criminal "Jakupi group" had participated in the Kosovo War (1998–1999), Insurgency in the Preševo Valley (2000–2001) and Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia (2001); Jakupi, born in Bujanovac, is wanted in Serbia for several criminal acts.
Operation
[edit]The group was headed by Ramadan Shiti and Lirim Jakupi (known as "The Nazi"), Wahhabi extremists and paramilitary[6] men who escaped from the Dubrava prison in Kosovo in August.[6][7] Some in the group, such as Shiti, had previously been linked with a Saudi-backed Wahhabi Muslim sect's attempts to take control over the Islamic communities in Macedonia and Kosovo.[6] The operation was carried out by a multi-ethnic[6] special police force in the villages of Brodec, Vešala and Vejce, near Tetovo, beginning in the morning.[7] The criminal group was defeated, and all police officers that participated in the operation were unharmed.[7] Two houses in the village of Brodec were destroyed by fire as a result of the clash, while the village mosque, which was used as a combat post by some members of the group, was damaged.[4]
6 militants were killed, 11 were wounded, and 13 arrested,[2][4] among them, Ramadan Shiti,[3] Habit Ahmeti and Fisnik Meti also known as "Commander Çeliku".[7] The detained men were beaten, according to witnesses.[5] Heavy weapons and ammunition were confiscated, including 3 mortars, 111 artillery shells, 2 recoillless rifles, 40 grenades, an electronically guided vehicle missile system, 9K111 Fagot, 4 surface-to-air missile launchers, 4 anti-aircraft missile systems, 9 Strela 2, M80 "Zolja", two grenade launchers, an M79 Rocket Launcher, 7 missiles, 6 RPGs and 132 grenades, 1 40 mm grenade launcher MGL-6, 56 grenades, 31 trinitrotoluene explosives, and plastic explosives.[7][8][9] Meanwhile, KFOR had increased its troop level in Kosovo, since the start of the operation.[7]
Aftermath
[edit]A Macedonian helicopter was allegedly shot down during the clashes; KFOR claims that a helicopter was shot down in the area, while Macedonian authorities denied the reports.[7] On 9 November, the police raided ethnic Albanian homes in Skopje, making additional arrests.[10]
Amnesty International expressed concerns over possible excessive use of force by the Macedonian authorities in the operation.[5] The Democratic Union for Integration, an ethnic Albanian party, also alleged disproportionate use of force.[10] An internal investigation by the Macedonian Ministry of Interior concluded that the use of firearms by the police was "appropriate, proportionate, justified and necessary", and that the detainees had been injured while resisting arrest.[5]
A Skopje court in July 2008 found the militants guilty and gave them prison terms between 10 and 15 years for terrorist association and possession of illegal weaponry.[11][12] Lirim Jakupi escaped the scene with a wound. Jakupi was sentenced in absentia by the court for 15 years for organising a terrorist group and illegal possession of weapons.[13] He was later arrested in September 2010, in an apartment in Pristina, Kosovo, together with grenades and weapons, by the Kosovo police.[14][13] The authorities released him in 2017.[15][16]
See also
[edit]- Kondovo Crisis
- Blace bunker raid
- Raduša shootout
- 2012 Republic of Macedonia inter-ethnic violence
- Timeline of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
References
[edit]- ^ a b "B92 - News - Region - Albanian group claims responsibility for Tetovo clashes". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ a b c d "Eight Albanians dead in clash with Macedonian police". www.b92.net. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
- ^ a b "Сите волци сити, настрада само Шити" (in Macedonian). Вечер. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
- ^ a b c Caucaso, Osservatorio Balcani e. "Macedonia: Six Killed in Police Raid in around Tetovo". OBC Transeuropa (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-11-21.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Amnesty International Report 2008 - Macedonia". Amnesty International. 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Macedonian Special Police Eliminate Armed Albanian Group with Paramilitary, Wahhabi Ties, Seizing Massive Arsenal". Balkan Analysis. November 11, 2007. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Eight Albanians dead in clash with Macedonian police". B92. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on December 17, 2014.
- ^ Mite, Valentinas (2 February 2012). "Firefight Kills Eight In Macedonia Near Kosovo Border". Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
- ^ "Four Killed in Macedonia Clashes". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
- ^ a b "Macedonia: Amnesty International calls for investigation into police killings". Amnesty International. 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ "Skopje: 192 years for terrorist suspects". B29.net. 12 July 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ "Macedonia Suspects Jailed for 192 Years". Balkan Insight (BIRN). 11 July 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Notorious Balkans criminal 'Nazi' Arrested in Kosovo". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
- ^ "Lirim Jakupi-Nacist arrested in Pristina". Idividi.
- ^ "Косовската полиција го ослободи Лирим Јакупи-Нацист". Sitel (in Macedonian). 29 July 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ "Kosovo Acquits Ex-Guerrilla of Attacking Macedonian Police". Balkan Insight (BIRN). 28 July 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2024.