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2001 dam takeover in North Macedonia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lipkovo crisis (Macedonian: Липковска криза, Albanian: Kriza e Likovës) was a crisis involving Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents from the National Liberation Army (NLA).[5][6][7] During the crisis, the NLA captured the Lipkovo dam, which caused a 12-day-long water crisis for the neighboring town of Kumanova.[5][8] On 18 June 2001, the NLA agreed to let the International Red Cross and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) restart the water supply systems.[9] Macedonian military operations were halted to allow inspectors to access and repair the pumps.[7]
Lipkovo crisis | |||||||
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Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
National Liberation Army | Macedonia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Abedin Zimberi[1] Nazmi Sulejmani Lefter Koxhaj Avdil Jakupi Xhezair Shaqiri |
Boris Trajkovski Ljubčo Georgievski Pande Petrovski Ljube Boškoski | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
113th Brigade "Ismet Jashari" Skanderbeg special unit |
Macedonian Army Macedonian Police "Tigar" Special Police Unit | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
12 killed[2] |
13 soldiers killed[2] 7 policemen killed[2] 2 Border Policemen captured (later realised unharmed)[3] | ||||||
3 ethnic Albanian civilians killed 10,000 Albanian civilians displaced[4] |
Fighting around Lipkovo began on March 28, 2001, with loud explosions that could be heard from the vicinity of the village.[10] The conflict centered primarily around the strategically important reservoir in the area.[5] On May 3, 2001, the NLA infiltrated the village of Lipkovo as well as neighboring villages, triggering a Macedonian bombardment of the villages.[11][12] The offensive was later halted after NATO and EU officials condemned the bombardment, citing concerns that the NLA was using civilians as human shields.[13][14] At least three ethnic Albanian citizens were killed.[15] Nevertheless, heavy fighting escalated when the NLA launched an attack on Macedonian forces defending the Lipkovo Dam, resulting in the NLA gaining control of the dam.[citation needed] This NLA takeover of the reservoir which supplied water to over 100,000 inhabitants of Kumanovo, prompted an immediate Macedonian response.[5] On June 11, an offensive was launched with the aim of retaking the dam.[citation needed] However, Macedonian forces announced later that same day that they had ceased all operations in the Lipkovo region to allow international officials to inspect the water pumps.[16] On June 18th, after a period of five days marked by negotiations and discussions, the NLA militants permitted a convoy led by OSCE representatives, which included expert teams from a water supply company, to enter the village. The potential disaster that posed a threat to over 100,000 Kumanovo citizens who had been without water supply for 12 days was effectively over, thus ending the crisis.[9] However, the village would remain under the control of NLA until the end of the conflict in Macedonia. On December 19, 2001, Macedonian police reestablished control after re-entering the village.[17]
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