The Peshkëpi incident was the killing of 2 Albanian army officers on 10 April 1994 at 02:40 AM. Eight men, later identified as members of the

Northern Epirus Liberation Front The Northern Epirus Liberation Front ( el, Μέτωπο Απελευθέρωσης Βορείου Ηπείρου (ΜΑΒΗ), link=no, ''Métopo Apelefthérosis Voreíou Ipeírou'' (MAVI)) also called the Northern Epirote Liberation Organization ...

, a Greek nationalist paramilitary organization,U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE; 1995 APRIL: PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, 1994
/ref> were involved in an attack on an Albanian army barracks in Peshkëpi,

Dropull Dropull ( sq-definite, Dropulli; el, Δρόπολη or Δερόπολη ''Dropoli'' or ''Deropoli'') is a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in southern Albania. The region stretches from south of the city of Gjirokastër to the Greek–Albani ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in April 1994. Two Albanian border soldiers were killed while sleeping; three were wounded.

Background

From the mid-1980s, an ethnic Greek paramilitary organization named "Northern Epirus Liberation Front" (MAVI), after the Northern Epirote

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

organization, accused the Albanian Government of violating the rights of the ethnic

Greek minority in Albania The Greeks of Albania are ethnic Greeks who live in or originate from areas within modern Albania. After ethnic Albanians, they form the second largest ethnic group in the country. They are mostly concentrated in the south of the country, in the ...

and berated Greece for not doing enough to support the minority. MAVI also called for an "armed struggle" against Albania. A 1984 bombing of the Albanian Embassy in Athens was claimed in its name. On 10 April 1994, several gunmen crossed into Albania from Greece and stormed a border guard facility in the village of Peshkëpi, killing two soldiers and seriously wounding three others before returning across the Greek border.

Aftermath

Albanian authorities alleged that the perpetrators were dressed in Greek military uniforms and were speaking Greek. In Greece, the

(MAVI) claimed responsibility both the next day and some months later. Stohos, a Greek nationalist weekly newspaper, regularly reported in a proud way about the incident. On the other hand, the Greek government flatly denied any responsibility in the event and, in the first couple of days, even excluded the possibility that any Greeks could have been involved in the incident. The Albanian government responded by arresting five member of the organization Omonoia. In response to this arrest the Greek government expelled a high number (that goes from 70,000 to 125,000) of Albanians emigrants from Greece.

Victims

Two Albanian soldiers were killed in their sleep, while 3 others were injured: *Arsen Gjini (soldier) *Fatmir Shehu (captain)

References

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090316025705/http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/ghm-greeks-albanians.PDF *http://b-info.com/places/Bulgaria/news/94-05/may13.gr {{DEFAULTSORT:Peshkepi killing Greek separatism 1994 murders in Europe Deaths by firearm in Albania People murdered in Albania Attacks on military installations in the 1990s 1994 in Albania 1994 crimes in Albania 1990s murders in Albania

Background

Aftermath

Victims

See also

References

Sources