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The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA or UĒK; Albanian: Ushtria Ēlirimtare e Kosovės) was a group of Albanian militants which operated in Kosovo during the late 1990s.
The name "Kosovo Liberation Army" was first used in the Republic of Macedonia in 1992. In 1995, beginnings of armed confrontation appeared in Kosovo, when the KLA carried out isolated attacks on Serbian police. The KLA appeared for the first time in public in June 1996, assuming responsibility for a series of acts of sabotage committed against the police stations and policemen in Kosovo and Metohija. After these bombings, Serb authorities named it a terrorist organization.
In 1997- 98 KLA carried out numerous attacks on police in Kosovo, and set up roadblocks in the countryside. In this period it was added to the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organisations. By May 1998 it effectively controlled a quarter of the province, centered by the region of Drenica , its stronghold being around the village of Donji Prekaz . In the spring and summer of 1998, Serbian security forces launched an offensive against the KLA, crushed most of its organization, regained control over most of the province (save for a pocket around the bordertown of Junik ) and pushed the remaining KLA into Albania.
The KLA responed by establishing training camps and bases in the mountains of Albania. The Albanian government did nothing to prevent this, while claiming that it did not support the KLA. The KLA more than regained its strength, and when the Kosovo war broke out on March 24, 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep, KLA was estimated to have 6,000 to 8,000 people in total, 2,000 to 4,000 in Kosovo, and the rest in Albania.
Urged by the war, ethnic Albanians from all over Europe (but mostly from Kosovo) came to Albania to join the KLA. When the war was over in June, it was estimated that KLA had grown to a total of 17,000 to 20,000 in total, with perhaps as many as 15,000 in Kosovo at any time.
According to the agreement between NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NATO , sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance is an international organization for defense collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed and YugoslaviaYugoslavia Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages) is a term used for three separate political entities that existed during most of the 20th century. Translated, the name means Land of the South Slavs jug in Jugoslavija means south). The first was a ki of June 1999, the KLA was to be demilitarised but this didn't really happen. The KLA was transformed into supposedly police-like Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC, TMK in Albanian) although some prominent members retained both uniforms and heavy weaponry. To this day, the KPC is a force to be reckoned with in Kosovo, its primary adversaries are non-Albanians (mostly SerbsSerbs Total population: 11 million (est. Population: ; Serbia and Montenegro: 6,674,470 ; Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,479,930 ; Croatia: 201,631 (2001) (580,000 in 1991) ; Slovenia: 38,964 (2002) ; FYROM: 35,939 (2002) ; Albania: 10,000 ; Romania: 22,725 (2) and Albanians who did not support the KLA. A new guerrilla group called UCPMBThe Liberation Army of PreSevo, Medveda and Bujanovac ( Albanian: Ushtria Clirimtare e Presheves, Medvegjes dhe Bujanovcit UCPMB was a terrorist guerrilla group fighting for independence from Serbia for the three municipalities: PreSevo, Medveda and Bujan, consisting of KLA veterans, began operating in the demilitarised zone in Southern Serbia in 2000This page is about the year 2000. See 2000 AD for the UK comic book, Number 2000 for other uses. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar), and also the International Year for a Culture of Peace''. Events Y2K passes without the seri- 012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap. In the Republic of Macedonia, a new organization also named UĒK (Albanian: Ushtria Ēlirimtare Kombėtare) - the National Liberation ArmyA guerilla group named the "National Liberation Army" ( Albanian: Ushtria Clirimtare Kombetare -UCK which operated in the Republic of Macedonia in 2000 and 2001. Also known as the Macedonian UCK. Not to be confused with the Kosovar UCK Ushtria Clirimtare - started similar actions claiming that it wants to improve civil rights for ethnic Albanians in 2000-01.