Albania–Yugoslav border incident (April 1999)
Part of theKosovo War andBattle of Košare
AlbanianType 59 tanks at the border a few weeks after the incident.
Date 13 April 1999[1] Location Krumë,Kukës,Tropojë and surrounding villages Result Status quo ante bellum Yugoslav forces retreat to Yugoslavia Albania breaks diplomatic relations withYugoslavia[2]
Belligerents
Yugoslavia	Albania Kosovo Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Dragan Živanović [sr]	Kudusi Lama [sq][3]
Units involved
Yugoslav Army	Albanian Army Kosovo Liberation Army
Strength
50 soldiers[1] of63rd Paratroop Battalion[4]	Kukës division Type 59 Tanks Unknown[3]
Casualties and losses
None	None None

An incident took place on theAlbania–Yugoslav border in April 1999 when theYugoslav Army shelled severalAlbanian border towns aroundKrumë,Tropojë. In these villages, refugees were being housed after fleeing the ongoingwar in Kosovo by crossing into Albania.^[5] On 13 April 1999, Yugoslav infantry entered Albanian territory to close off an area that was used by theKosovo Liberation Army to stage attacks against Yugoslav targets.^[1][6]

In 1992–1993, ethnic Albanians created theKosovo Liberation Army (KLA)^[7] which started attackingFederal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) police forces and secret-service officials who abused Albanian civilians in 1995.^[8] Starting in 1998, the KLA was involved in frontal battle, with increasing numbers of Yugoslav security forces. Escalating tensions led to theKosovo War in February 1998.^[9][10][11]

As tensions increased, it became increasingly difficult for theAlbanian Army to monitor the country's 140-kilometre (87 mi) border with the FRY and cope with the steady influx ofKosovar Albanian refugees into the country.^[12] Yugoslav army units controlled the border in a few areas, but generally relied on the remote mountainous terrain to do their work for them. Many Yugoslav border units suffered from lack of manpower, with the wars inBosnia and Herzegovina andCroatia having seriously damaged their resources. The morale of soldiers was low, with food often poor, and spare parts for army and police equipment and supplies were difficult to obtain.^[13]

Albanian authorities were concerned with attempts bySerbia to implicate Albania as asupporter of terrorism.^[12] The Albanian Army had an estimated 4,000–6,000 soldiers, and Yugoslavia was said to have "little regard" for the country's military.^[14]

The Kosovo War caused thousands of Kosovar Albanians to join the KLA ranks. More than 500,000 ethnic Albanian refugees fled their homes in fear of Yugoslav Army reprisals between 1998 and 1999. Meanwhile, the KLA began to recruit in the refugee camps. There had been fighting along the border between the KLA and Yugoslav forces where KLA troops had infiltrated into Kosovo. The subsequent incursion by the FRY could have been in response to KLA actions in the area, according to Albanian police.^[6]

Relations between the FRY andAlbania had been strained as 300,000 ethnic Albanians had fled into Albania itself. The Yugoslavs had been angered over Albania's support ofNATO airstrikes and its sheltering of KLA militants. TheOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) had reported previous Yugoslav Army incursions into Albanian territory. The border was lightly defended by theAlbanian Army which was ordered not to fire back after a Yugoslav Army attack. A KLA commander reported that rebel forces had crossed over into Kosovo nearTropojë, a KLA stronghold, in the days before the attack, this incursion was confirmed by an OSCE monitor.^[6]

From their positions on the Yugoslavian side of the border, soldiers of theYugoslav Army fired at least 10 shells on the town ofKrumë just before midnight, where refugees fromKosovo had taken shelter.^[5]Albanian Foreign Ministry spokesmanSokol Gjoka stated that the incident did not result in casualties on either side, and that three houses had been destroyed in the fighting. The same source claim the Yugoslav troops withdrew when Albanian forces from Tropojë reached the area.^[15]

• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe: OSCE monitors reported that Yugoslav paratroopers had crossed the border.^[1]
• Albania: TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs declared that "The infantry troops of the Serb forces have penetrated up to two kilometers (1.2 miles) inside Albania after two hours of bomb shelling on our side"^[16] On 18 April, Albania and Yugoslavia broke off all diplomatic relations.^[2]
• Yugoslavia: TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Yugoslavia denied that Yugoslav troops had entered Albania.^[16]
• Turkey: Prime ministerBülent Ecevit stated that he would allow that "If necessary, Turkey would defend along with Albania sovereignty and independence of the befriended and brother people of Albania".^[4]

• Elsie, Robert (2010).Historical Dictionary of Albania. Scarecrow Press.ISBN 978-0-8108-7380-3.
• Pettifer, James; Vickers, Miranda (2007).The Albanian Question: Reshaping the Balkans.New York: I.B. Tauris.ISBN 978-1-86064-974-5.

• Conflicts in 1999
• Military history of Albania
• Albania–Serbia border
• Military operations of the Kosovo War
• Battles involving FR Yugoslavia
• April 1999 in Europe
• 1999 in Albania
• 1999 in Kosovo
• Military raids
• Combat incidents
• Border incidents

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