2. NATO in Macedonia Standard Grade Modern Studies – Europe

3. Macedonia

4.  Macedonia is bordered by Serbia to the North, Albania to the West, Greece to the South and Bulgaria to the East.  Since 1993 it has been referred to as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  Macedonia has 3 major groups making up its population; the Slavs, the Albanians and the Serbs.  In February 2001 a war begun in the Western regions of Macedonia.

5. Why conflict in Macedonia?  In February 2001 a war begun in the Western regions of Macedonia.  Albanian fighters, aided by sympathisers and weapons from Kosovo and Albania, began a seven month war with the Macedonian army and police who are predominantly Slav.  During the conflict nearly 100 people lost their lives and an estimated 150,000 fled their homes.

6. NATO Actions in Macedonia  From February to August, various talks took place in attempts to reach peace, however these talks failed and violence continued.  In August 2001, NATO authorised deployment of 3500 troops to Macedonia in order to collect and destroy weapons and act as peacekeepers.  This plan was called ‘Operation Essential Harvest’.

7. Operation Essential Harvest  In order for NATO to deploy troops for Operation Harvest, conditions had to be met in the country, these were; An enduring cease-fire respected by all parties. A general political agreement among the main political parties. A disarmament plan agreed with the government and the ethnic Albanians.

8. Operation Essential Harvest  NATO worked in Macedonia to ensure peace and collected and destroyed weapons from armed groups.  From June to August in 2002 KFOR had seized over 3,300 weapons and 73,000 bounds of ammunition.  Today there are still troops in Macedonia, although much less – many have been redeployed to Afghanistan.  NATO’s role in Macedonia today is more about maintaining peace and cooperation in the country.