The Brest attack was an attack by the
National Liberation Army (NLA), near the village of
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
*Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
*Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
**Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Brest, ...
on 10 March 2001 during the
insurgency in Macedonia.
the NLA ambushed a Macedonian convoy, after they were defeated and forced to withdraw by
KFOR KFOR may refer to:
* KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
* KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
* KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defunct ...
troops in the village of
Tanuševci
Tanuševci ( mk, Танушевци, sq, Tanushë) is a village in the municipality of Čučer-Sandevo, Republic of North Macedonia.
Name
The name comes from the Albanian name Tanush.
Demographics
As of the 2021 census, Tanuševci had 304 res ...
.
Attack
After the
Tanuševci operation
The Tanuševci operation was a joint Macedonian-KFOR operation to regain control of the village of Tanuševci which was previously infiltrated by NLA rebels. The Operation was successful with NATO-led KFOR forces capturing the village and Macedon ...
, a Macedonian police convoy was sent to establish presence near the border to Kosovo and to try to prevent an Albanian insurgency by the NLA from taking hold in the area, but found itself trapped in an ambush by the NLA.
According to Macedonian police estimates, there were around 30 insurgents.
Immediately after the ambush an hour-long battle involving artillery and heavy mortars erupted, after which most of the Macedonian convoy managed to escape.
The fighting left one dead from the Macedonian Security forces.
After the firefight the NLA established control in Molino and Brest and the insurgency spread to wider parts of the country.
Aftermath
While the Macedonian convoy was able to break through the ambush, they were forced to seal off the village.
The NLA took control of Molino and Brest, and the insurgency spread to wider parts in Macedonia
According to the
Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the main motive behind the attack by the NLA was their resentment over the Ministry's establishment of cooperation with the local population, among whom there were those who volunteered to work in the planned reserve police stations.
References
{{Reflist
2001 insurgency in Macedonia