Tearce attack
| Tearce attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of 2001 insurgency in Macedonia | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 National Liberation Army |
 Macedonia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Unknown |
 Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
112th Brigade |
Macedonian Police | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
None |
1 policeman killed[1] 3 injured[2] | ||||||
The Tearce attack was an attack carried out by the National Liberation Army on a Macedonian police station in Tearce, North Macedonia. This attack marked the beginning of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia.[3] As a result of the attack, one police officer was killed and three others were injured and the NLA captured Tearce.[4]
Attack
[edit]The attack took place on 22 January 2001, on a Monday at 2:00 AM in the village of Tearce, which is inhabited largely by ethnic Albanians.[5] During the attack, three or four NLA militants armed with a Chinese rocket launcher and two Kalashnikovs attacked a Macedonian police station. The militants killed the police officer Momir Stojanovski in the attack, who was killed by the RPG grenade, while three other policemen were seriously injured.[6][7][8] The injuries were believed to have been sustained from the two grenades fired at the station.[9]
Aftermath
[edit]The NLA claimed responsibility for the attack. After the attack in Tearce, the village was held by the NLA.[10] However, Macedonian police reported that the militants operated independently. Police spokesman Stevo Pendarovski reported, "These extreme radical individuals are not part of an organised group."[8]
The attack in Tearce resulted in the beginning of the insurgency.[4][11] It was designated as a terrorist attack by the Macedonian Ministry of Interior.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/en/angelov-na-20-godishninata-od-napadot-vrz-ps-vo-tearcze-da-ne-se-zaboravi-za-da-ne-ni-se-povtori/
- ^ "CER | Macedonia: Destabilisation?".
- ^ Daskalovski, zidas. THE MACEDONIAN CONFLICT OF 2001: BETWEEN SUCCESSFUL DIPLOMACY, RHETORIC AND TERROR. p. 7.
- ^ a b "That's the police station, that was". The Economist. 25 October 2001.
- ^ Димовски, Сашко (22 January 2021). "Angelov on the 20th anniversary of the attack on PS in Tearce: Not to be forgotten so that it does not happen again". Слободен печат. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Димовски, Зоран (21 January 2023). "22 years ago, the first victim of the military conflict fell in Tearce, marking the anniversary of the death of police officer Momir Stojanovski - Free Press". Слободен печат. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Naegele, Jolyon (9 April 2008). "2001 In Review: NATO 'Dodges A Bullet' In Macedonia, Southern Serbia". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ a b Latifi, Veton (14 February 2001). "Skopje Dismisses KLA Bombing Link". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Pritchard, Eleanor (26 January 2001). "News from Macedonia". Central Europe Review. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Phillips, John (2004). Macedonia : warlords and rebels in the Balkans. Internet Archive. New Haven, CT : Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10268-0.
- ^ "20 Years On, Armed Conflict's Legacy Endures in North Macedonia". Balkan Insight. 22 January 2021.
- ^ White Book: Terrorism of the So-Called NLA. Skopje: Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia. 2001. p. 109. Archived from the original on 5 March 2015.