1997 Albanian civil unrest

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1997 Albanian civil unrest
Evacuation of the United States citizens during Operation Silver Wake
Date 16 January – 11 August 1997 (6 months, 3 weeks and 5 days) Location Albania Result New parliamentary elections[1]
Belligerents
Rebels Armed civilians who lost their properties Armed Gangs Albanian Army defectors Salvation Committees Monarchists	Government Democratic Party SHIK Part of the Albanian Police Republican Guard UNSC missions  Austria  France  Germany  Greece  Italy  Romania  Spain  Turkey  United States
Commanders and leaders
	Sali Berisha (President) Bashkim Gazidede (SHIK) Safet Zhulali Gazmend Braka Thomas Klestil Jacques Chirac Helmut Kohl Costas Simitis Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Emil Constantinescu José María Aznar Süleyman Demirel Bill Clinton
Strength
Unknown	30,000 soldiers 7,000+ peacekeepers
Casualties and losses
2,000[2]–3,800, civilians and members of army, police, and secret police[citation needed]

In 1997, widespread civil unrest struck Albania due to economic problems in the country, that were caused by the collapse of pyramid schemes. Due to the large quantities of money robbed from the government to fund the schemes, the Democratic Party's government collapsed in January 1997. More than 2,000 people were killed in the conflict until its end in August 1997. The creation of a new government came as the revolutionaries surrounded Tirana.^[3][4] Various other sources also describe the violence that ensued as a rebellion or even a civil war.

By January 1997, Albanian citizens, who had lost a total of $1.2 billion, took their protest to the streets. Beginning in February, thousands of citizens launched daily protests demanding reimbursement by the government, which they believed was profiting from the schemes. On 1 March, Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi resigned and on 2 March, President Sali Berisha declared a state of emergency.^[5]

On March 11th, the Socialist Party of Albania won a major victory when its leader, Bashkim Fino, was appointed prime minister. However, the transfer of power did not halt the unrest, and protests spread to northern Albania. Although the government quelled revolts in the north, the ability of the government and military to maintain order began to collapse, especially in the southern half of Albania, which fell under the control of rebels and criminal gangs.^[5]

All major population centres were engulfed in demonstrations by 13 March and foreign countries began to evacuate their citizens. These evacuations included Operation Libelle, Operation Silver Wake and Operation Cosmas, by the German, American and Greek militaries respectively.^[6] The United Nations Security Council, in Resolution 1101, authorized a force of 7,000 troops on 28 March to direct relief efforts and restore order in Albania. The UN feared the unrest would spread beyond Albania's borders and send refugees throughout Europe. So, the US and NATO provided assistance to the refugees by managing refugee camps, airlifting the displaced populations throughout Europe, and securing the borders.^[7] On 15 April, a multi-national peacekeeping force launched Operation Alba which helped restore rule of law in the country by late July.^[5]

After the rebellion had ended, some of the weapons looted from Albanian army barracks and stockpiles were acquired by the Kosovo Liberation Army, with many making their way to the ensuing Kosovo War (1998–99).^[8][9]