Active 1999–2001 Opponents Republic of Serbia | Strength 5,000 (1,500 active) Founded 1999 Opponent Republic of Serbia | |
Became National Liberation Army | ||
The Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (Albanian: Ushtria Çlirimtare e Preshevës, Medvegjës dhe Bujanocit, UÇPMB) was an Albanian separatist militant insurgent group fighting for independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for the three municipalities: Preševo, Bujanovac, and Medveđa, home to most of the Albanians in south Serbia, adjacent to Kosovo.
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UÇPMB's uniforms, procedures and tactics mirrored those of the then freshly disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The 1,500-strong paramilitary launched the insurgency in the Preševo Valley from 1999 to 2001, with the goal of seceding these municipalities from Yugoslavia and joining them to the protectorate of Kosovo. The EU condemned what it described as the "extremism" and use of "illegal terrorist actions" by the group.
History
After the end of the Kosovo War in 1999, a three-mile "Ground Safety Zone" (GSZ) was established between Kosovo (governed by the UN) and inner Serbia and Montenegro. Yugoslav Forces (VJ) units were not permitted there, and only the lightly armed Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs forces were left in the area. The exclusion zone included the predominantly Albanian village of Dobrosin, but not Preševo. Kosovo terrorism was exported across the borders, with former KLA members quickly established bases in the demilitarized zone, and Serbian police had to stop patrolling the area to avoid being ambushed. Attacks were also made on ethnic Albanian politicians opposed to the KLA, including the assassination of Zemail Mustafi, the vice-president of the Bujanovac branch of Slobodan Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia. Between 21 June 1999 and 12 November 2000, 294 attacks were recorded, most of them (246) in Bujanovac, 44 in Medveđa and six in Preševo. These attacks resulted in 14 people killed (of which six were civilians and eight were policemen), 37 people wounded (two UN observers, three civilians and 34 policemen) and five civilians kidnapped. In their attacks, UÇPMB used mostly assault rifles, machine guns, mortars and sniper rifles, but occasionally also RPGs, hand grenades, and anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. The UÇPMB included minors. As the situation was getting out of control, NATO allowed the VJ to reclaim the demilitarized zone on 24 May 2001, at the same time giving the UÇPMB the opportunity to turn themselves over to the Kosovo Force (KFOR), which promised to only take their weapons and note their names before releasing them. More than 450 UÇPMB members took advantage of KFOR's "screen and release" policy, among them commander Shefket Musliu, who turned himself over to KFOR at a checkpoint along the GSZ just after midnight of 26 May 2001.
Aftermath
The former KLA next moved to western Macedonia where they established the National Liberation Army, which fought against the Macedonian government in 2001. Ali Ahmeti organized the NLA of former KLA fighters from Kosovo and Macedonia, Albanian insurgents from Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac in Serbia, young Albanian radicals and nationalists from Macedonia, and foreign mercenaries.