The battle of Raduša was part of the wider inter-ethnic conflict known as the Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia between the Albanian NLA and Macedonian security forces concentrated near the border with Kosovo. The brunt of the fighting happened near the village of Raduša and Bojane villages that guard the roads to the Rašče water supply which supplies water to the capital city of Skopje.[6]
| Battle of Raduša | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia | |||||||
 Ruins of a train station destroyed after the battle in Raduša | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Macedonia |
 National Liberation Army | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Boris Trajkovski Vlado Bučkovski Pande Petrovski Ljube BoškoskiStrašo Gligorov Risto Galevski Aco Stojanovski |
Rafiz Aliti Emrush Suma | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
|
115th Brigade | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
70 policemen and border patrol officers (August)[1] 1 T-55 tank (Start of battle) Mi-24 gunship 1 Su-25 |
200 insurgents (August)[2][3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
Unknown 1 T-55 tank lost[4] 2 APCs lost[4] |
Unknown | ||||||
| 5 Macedonian workers kidnapped and tortured by NLA[5] | |||||||
Battle
editOpening skirmishes
editThe first clash took place on 20 June 2001, when four policemen from the Raduša police station discovered an NLA camp of forty insurgents on the steps of Žeden mountain, during a patrol of the terrain on the border. The police patrol opened fire killing one insurgent and wounding another.[7] The patrol called on air support which came immediately and pushed the insurgents towards Kosovo.[7]
On 23 June, one of the most dramatic single events in the conflict occurred when another police border patrol was attacked in an NLA ambush near Raduša.[8] The police patrol was led by Aco Stojanovski, the Deputy-Commander of the Raduša police station.[9] The insurgents fired at the police vehicle with RPG rockets, throwing three policemen out of the car and leaving one inside.[10] The NLA attempted to approach the badly wounded policemen. Commander Stojanovski's firing six rounds from an AK-47 at the insurgents saved them until soldiers from the Raduša border post arrived and repelled the NLA with fire from an armored personnel carrier.[10] After the conflict, commander Stojanovski became the president of the Union of Army and Police veterans of the Conflict in Macedonia.[11]
After this ambush there were calls to seriously strengthen the defenses around Raduša in order to prevent the NLA from capturing the water supply near the village of Rasce which would have stopped the water supply to the capital city of Skopje.[12]
Major offensive
editIn the early hours of 10 August 2001, the NLA launched an offensive from the area of Krivenik in the Kosovo Municipality of Đeneral Janković (Hani i Elezit), invading the territory of Macedonia in the region of Raduša. The offensive took place during the ceasefire period, only days before the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. The first actions began at 20:00 the same day with a mortar attack on the Raduša police station, located at the entrance of the village. The police station was manned by only thirty-five policemen. The security forces returned fire and the shootout lasted until 2:00 A.M. Afterwards, the NLA initiated an infantry attack which was repelled by the police.[13] During the attack one police officer was injured.[14]
According to information obtained by the Macedonian intelligence service, the attack was conducted by more than six hundred NLA insurgents, supported by volunteers from the Kosovo Protection Crops.[13] The Corps came from the town of Krivenik in Kosovo and crossed the Macedonian border into Raduša during the night. According to the same information, the NLA and KPC plan of action was to neutralise the security forces in the Raduša sector, then penetrate southwards and capture the Rašče water spring[5] which feeds the Macedonian capital Skopje with drinking water. Cutting water supplies would create a humanitarian crisis in the city.[15][citation needed]
The Ministry of Interior single-handedly declared an alert condition and sent detachments of the "Tiger" special police unit to dig in and secure the Rašče spring. Other detachments of the "Tiger" were sent to rescue thirty-five policemen surrounded at the Raduša station. Because of the lack of artillery support, and the overwhelming numbers of the NLA encirclement, they dug–in at positions outside Raduša.[10] The Minister of Interior Ljube Boškoski and Prime Minister Ljubčo Georgievski asked President Trajkovski for an immediate activation of the army in order to neutralise the invasion from Kosovo. The president, however, encouraged by the NATO and EU envoys, was concentrated on reaching a political solution that respected the conditions of the 5 July Ceasefire Agreement. He asked that the police not respond to provocations in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict. Meanwhile, the encircled policemen in the Raduša station were left on their own.[10][15]
On 11 August, the second day of the battle, the NLA began the most serious attack against the security forces in the Skopje region. A column of two hundred Albanian insurgents attacked the Raduša army border post with mortar, automatic rifle and sniper fire. The Raduša army border post, located between the villages of Kučkovo and Raduša, was manned by twenty-five soldiers with mortars, automatic rifles, one tank, and three armoured personnel carriers. At the same time, the NLA conducted another assault attack on the encircled police station at the Raduša village.[13] The army and police returned fire and, during the heavy fighting, the NLA managed to set fire to the petrol barrels within the barracks of the army border post. The insurgents managed to come so close that they started cutting the wire-fence.[16] The policemen also managed to repel all of the attacks made on 11 August.[13]
Aftermath
editAfter the signing of the ceasefire Raduša was chosen as one of the designated collection sites for the voluntary disposal of NLA weapons where the 115th Brigade which took part in the battle disposed of its weapons and captured vehicles after the Macedonian security forces previously withdrew from the collection sites as was agreed with NATO, the NLA did not honor its commitment to withdraw to lines held before the 5 July ceasefire.[17][18][19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "North Macedonia's Conflict-Displaced Families Still Waiting for Homes". Balkan Insight. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Clashes threaten Macedonia deal". CNN world. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Frontline NLA Brigade Demobilizes". UPI. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ a b "JANES, Who are the NLA?". The Mail Archive, Janes Information Services. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ a b Fisher, Ian (12 August 2001). "Macedonians Kidnapped By Guerrillas Tell of Abuse". New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "New Fighting Imperils Pact In Macedonia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
The fighting around Ljuboten followed clashes in the past 24 hours in the largely ethnic Albanian city of Tetovo and the northern village of Radusa, which is vital to retaining control of a reservoir that supplies Skopje./The government also closed off the main Skopje-Tetovo road this morning for hours after reports that insurgents had advanced toward another village, Bojane
- ^ a b "Во Борби Кај Радуша. Разбиена терористичка група на Жеден" Дневник. 22 June 2001 Archived 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Терористите нападнаа со зољи и минофрлачи а се најдовме и во вкрстен оган од автомати" Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Весник ВЕСТ. 5 December 2001
- ^ "Цела деценија ме измачува Радуша" Archived 27 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Нова Македонија. 24 June 2011
- ^ a b c d "Исповед – Радуша 2001". Звонко Младеновски. Скопје. 2003
- ^ "Бранителите формираа унија". Дневник. 30 July 2007
- ^ "Рашче мора да се брани по секоја цена". Time.mk. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
Состојбата во реонот на планината Жеден е многу сериозна, таа бара безбедносните сили веднаш да реагираат, за да не бидеме изненадени ако утре, поради негрижа, главниот град остане без вода за пиење. На теренот околу Жеден му се потребни чистење од терористи и будно деноноќно чување. Поголеми докази од оние од пред пет дена, кога од заседа беше нападната полициска патрола и тешко беа ранети пет припадници на македонските сили за безбедност - не се потребни The situation in the Zheden mountain region is very serious, it requires the security forces to react immediately, so that we will not be surprised if tomorrow, due to carelessness, the capital is left without drinking water. The terrain around Zheden needs to be cleared of terrorists and guarded around the clock. Greater evidence than that of five days ago, when a police patrol was ambushed and five members of the Macedonian security forces were seriously wounded - they are not needed">
- ^ a b c d "Жестоки Борби Во Скопско – Заробени дваесетина терористи". Дневник. 13 August 2001 Archived 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Нападнати пунктови на полицијата и на АРМ кај Радуша и Чашка" Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Весник ВЕСТ. 11 August 2001
- ^ a b ""Погребите ја погребаа командната одговорност". Жаклина Митевска. Македонско Сонце. 28 јануари 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ "Наместо награда за храброста,резервистот го прават луд!". Дневник. 18 March 2006 Archived 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Press Briefing held on 7 September 2001 at the NATO Press Centre in Skopje". NATO.int. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
And just to provide you a little bit more information about the collection site that is now operational. It was established and fully operational at approximately 21:00, last night. It is located in the vicinity of Radusa.
- ^ Naegele, Jolyon (9 April 2008). "Macedonia: NATO Commander Assesses Preconditions For Deployment". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
For their part, Macedonian authorities are concerned with a requirement that their security forces withdraw from the areas around the arms collection points to create a non-hostile environment.
- ^ Naegele, Jolyon (9 April 2008). "Macedonia: NATO's 'Essential Harvest' Gets Under Way". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
Shpati says the UCK has information that Macedonian security forces are withdrawing their heavy weapons from the vicinity of the weapons collection points as stipulated in the U.S.- and EU-brokered peace deal of 13 August. However, he says the UCK is not withdrawing its forces to pre-5 July lines since, "we have nowhere to go."