Battle of Tetovo – 2001 – 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

Описание: The Battle of Tetovo was the largest engagement during the 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia, in which Macedonian security forces battled Albanian insurgents of the National Liberation Army for control of the city.
Prelude
Tetovo is a large city in Macedonia. Of the original population of 53,000, 55% were ethnic Albanians. In the aftermath of the Kosovo War, tensions between Macedonians and Albanians began to rise. With the formation of an insurgency, the National Liberation Front began seizing territory in and around the Tetovo area. Skirmishes between the insurgency and government forces became commonplace in other portions of the country.

The Macedonian forces, numbering more than 3,000, held a limited amount of armour and artillery. Reportedly, they possessed a number of armoured personnel carriers, 105 mm and 122 mm Howitzers, ex-Bulgarian T-55 tanks. The bulk of their force consisted of reservists at the brink of conflict. These numbers were to rapidly rise in the following months as the military expenditures of Macedonia quadrupled to almost 7% of GDP which resulted in major purchases of military hardware mainly from Ukraine and Bulgaria. Also the mobilisation of special police forces like that of the Lions and Wolves unit. By the heighten period of the conflict the whole 1st mechanized brigade was stationed in and around Tetovo municipality.