Albanian National Army

The Albanian National Army (ANA; Albanian: Armata Kombëtare Shqiptare, AKSh), is an Albanian paramilitary organization which operates in North Macedonia, Serbia[2] and Kosovo.[lower-alpha 1][3] The group opposes the Ohrid Framework Agreement which ended the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia between members of the National Liberation Army and Macedonian security forces.

Not to be confused with Military of Albania.
Albanian National Army
Dates of operation2001 – present
Active regionsKosovo
Polog, North Macedonia,
Preševo Valley[1]
IdeologyAlbanian nationalism
Greater Albania

History

It was formed in 2001 in Macedonia and, in 2003, the UNMIK declared it a terrorist organization. The organization is associated with FBKSh (National Front for Reunification of Albanians), its political wing.

The ANA appeared in Kosovo in 2003, where on March 7, two members trying to detonate a bomb were shot and killed by Serbian police.[4] In 2007, a video was aired by Kosovar television stations depicting a band of medium-armed, masked individuals intercepting cars. In October, 2007 the unit declared it would seize the Serb exclave of North Kosovo by force if the Kosovo Protection Force did not occupy it by 1 November 2007. The ANA has claimed that it is patrolling North Kosovo to prevent incursions by the Czar Lazar Guard.[5]

In early November 2007, insurgents of the "Political Advisory Body of the Kosovo Liberation Army" suffered a minor crackdown, dubbed Operation Mountain Storm by the Macedonian armed forces in north-western Macedonia. According to Macedonian authorities; six members of the KLA were killed.[6]

On 13 November 2007, a video was aired to the public, an exclusive interview with a leader of the ANA patrolling in the covert areas of North Kosovo, recruiting 20 new men. The leader stated that ANA stands at 12,000 men altogether and has called the Kosovar population for a boycott of then-forthcoming elections.

The ANA had committed an attack on 29 April 2010 on the border between Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia, in which a Macedonian policeman was killed. In the skirmish, one ANA fighter was injured.[7]

The group has been removed from the list of terrorist groups.[8]

See also

Notes
  1. Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008. Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 99 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 113 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 14 later withdrew their recognition.

References
  1. In 2015 have been published some videos where they are seen being trained
  2. Only in the Preševo Valley
  3. During 2014, it declared that it would intervene in northern Mitrovica
  4. Serbia and Montenegro: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003 U.S. Department of State. February 25, 2004.
  5. Report: ANA paramilitaries patrolling northern Kosovo towns
  6. "Firefight Kills Eight In Macedonia Near Kosovo Border". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  7. "ONA odgovorna za pucnjavu u Makedoniji". Mondo Portal. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  8. ANA have been removed from terrorist list http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-Global-Terrorism-Index-Report.pdf
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