Lipkovo crisis

The Lipkovo crisis (Macedonian: Липковска криза, Albanian: Kriza e Likovës) was a crisis involving Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents from the National Liberation Army (NLA). During the crisis, the NLA captured the Lipkovo dam, which caused a 12-day-long water crisis for the neighboring town of Kumanova. On 18 June 2001, the NLA agreed to let the International Red Cross and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) restart the water supply systems. Macedonian military operations were halted to allow inspectors to access and repair the pumps.

Crisis
Fighting around Lipkovo began on March 28, 2001, with loud explosions that could be heard from the vicinity of the village. The conflict centered primarily around the strategically important reservoir in the area. On May 3, 2001, the NLA infiltrated the village of Lipkovo as well as neighboring villages, triggering a Macedonian bombardment of the villages. The offensive was later halted after NATO and EU officials condemned the bombardment, citing concerns that the NLA was using civilians as human shields. At least three ethnic Albanian citizens were killed. Nevertheless, heavy fighting escalated when the NLA launched an attack on Macedonian forces defending the Lipkovo Dam, resulting in the NLA gaining control of the dam. This NLA takeover of the reservoir which supplied water to over 100,000 inhabitants of Kumanovo, prompted an immediate Macedonian response. On June 11, an offensive was launched with the aim of retaking the dam. However, Macedonian forces announced later that same day that they had ceased all operations in the Lipkovo region to allow international officials to inspect the water pumps. On June 18th, after a period of five days marked by negotiations and discussions, the NLA militants permitted a convoy led by OSCE representatives, which included expert teams from a water supply company, to enter the village. The potential disaster that posed a threat to over 100,000 Kumanovo citizens who had been without water supply for 12 days was effectively over, thus ending the crisis. However, the village would remain under the control of NLA until the end of the conflict in Macedonia. On December 19, 2001, Macedonian police reestablished control after re-entering the village.