Karpalak ambush

Karpalak ambush
	Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
Date	8 August 2001
Location	Near Grupčin, on the Skopje–Tetovo highway, Macedonia41°58′39″N 21°10′12″E / 41.97750°N 21.17000°E
Result	NLA and ANA victory Macedonian Air Force bombs predominantly Albanian villages around Tetovo; Anti-Albanian sentiment spread across Prilep with Anti-Albanian protests and riots across the city; Peace negotiations continue, eventually leading to the Ohrid Agreement;
Belligerents
National Liberation Army; Albanian National Army	Macedonian army
Commanders and leaders
Unknown; Unknown	Nane Naumoski †; Sašo Kitanoski †
Units involved
Brigade 112 "Mujdin Aliu"	Military Reserve Force (Prilep garrison)
Strength
80+ militants	120 reservists; 2 unarmed MI-17 Helicopters
Casualties and losses
2 killed; 10 wounded; None	10 killed; 3 wounded; 1 truck destroyed; 1 bus destroyed
	Site of the ambush class=notpageimage\| Location within North Macedonia

The Karpalak ambush (Macedonian: Заседа кај Карпалак; Albanian: Pritë në Karpalak), referred to by Macedonians as the Karpalak massacre (Macedonian: Масакр кај Карпалак),^[2] was an attack carried out by the National Liberation Army (NLA) against a convoy of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM) near the village of Grupčin on 8 August 2001 during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia. Ten members of the ARM's Military Reserve Force, including two officers, were killed at Karpalak and three others were wounded. The ambush was the single deadliest incident of the conflict. It was speculated that the ambush was carried out in retaliation for a Macedonian police raid in Skopje, the day before in which five NLA insurgents were killed.

In the years following the ambush, the Macedonian government has commissioned several plaques commemorating the fallen reservists, which have become the frequent target of vandals. This has prompted complaints from veterans' organizations that the government has not done enough to ensure the reservists are properly commemorated.

^ "Macedonia - defense: Buckovski: "Let tragedy be the beginning of the end of the war"". Relief.web. 10 August 2001. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022. "ANA" CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING OF TEN MACEDONIAN SOLDIERS Skopje, August 10 - A new armed group of ethnic Albanians on Thursday claimed responsibility for the killing of ten Macedonian army reservists in a highway ambush a day earlier. The "Albanian National Army" (AKSH) e-mailed a statement to several media in the region, on Albanian-language, saying a combined unit of its fighters and of the so-called National Liberation Army (NLA) carried the attack out "in revenge" for the killing of five NLA members by Macedonian security forces.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bačikj, Mirko (8 August 2018). "17 години Карпалак – тага и непребол за 10-те загинати бранители на Македонија" [17 Years Since Karpalak: Sorrow and Grief for 10 Fallen Defenders of Macedonia]. Магазин (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
^ "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". time.mk. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
^ "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". Дневник. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". Дневник. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". Дневник. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[Relief-1] "Macedonia - defense: Buckovski: "Let tragedy be the beginning of the end of the war"". Relief.web. 10 August 2001. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022. "ANA" CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING OF TEN MACEDONIAN SOLDIERS Skopje, August 10 - A new armed group of ethnic Albanians on Thursday claimed responsibility for the killing of ten Macedonian army reservists in a highway ambush a day earlier. The "Albanian National Army" (AKSH) e-mailed a statement to several media in the region, on Albanian-language, saying a combined unit of its fighters and of the so-called National Liberation Army (NLA) carried the attack out "in revenge" for the killing of five NLA members by Macedonian security forces.

[mirko-2] Bačikj, Mirko (8 August 2018). "17 години Карпалак – тага и непребол за 10-те загинати бранители на Македонија" [17 Years Since Karpalak: Sorrow and Grief for 10 Fallen Defenders of Macedonia]. Магазин (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.

[3] "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". time.mk. Retrieved 21 February 2024.

[4] "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". Дневник. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[5] "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". Дневник. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[6] "Пилоти со невооружени хеликоптери спасиле тројца војници". Дневник. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

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