Non-Subscriber Extract
Macedonian army lacking strength
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| 3 April 2001 |
ZORAN KUSOVAC JDW Correspondent
Rome
The
Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM) has launched what it calls a "final
operation" to dislodge ethnic-Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA
or UCK) rebels from Macedonia. The offensive taking place in the hills 20km north of capital Skopje along the border with Kosovo follows what the government called "total victory" last month over the NLA on Mount Sar above Tetovo, where ARM and forces of the interior ministry (MVR) advanced into formerly rebel-held territory.
There is doubt that the Mount Sar operation can be called a total victory. After a week's procrastination and a slow troop build-up, less than 500 ARM soldiers accompanied five T-55 main battle tanks (MBTs) into the hills above Tetovo. Progressing slowly and meeting little opposition, government troops heavily shelled any suspected guerrilla outpost, mostly civilian houses whose inhabitants took refuge before the long-announced offensive began.
ARM units, which included a substantial proportion of reservists, moved further into the hills only after helicopters strafed the heights with 57mm unguided rockets. Four Mi-8MTV transport helicopters and two Mi-24D gunships were delivered to ARM's air wing on 23 March, substantially augmenting the previous complement of only three Mi-17s. The helicopters, originating from Ukraine, are the first major purchase by ARM in many years.
Most of ARM's equipment, including virtually all MBTs and artillery, came as aid. In 1999 Bulgaria donated 150 T-55s, but only 104 of those are operational, with the rest used for spares and training. It also supplied 142 pieces of Soviet-built field artillery in calibres up to 152mm. Other donations included armoured personnel carriers (APCs): 60 ex-East German BTR-70s from Germany; 63 M-113 APCs from Italy; and 10 Leonidas APCs from Greece. Most of the German-supplied Hermellin wheeled APCs were transferred to MVR paramilitary units.
The ARM continues to depend heavily on foreign aid. The US government announced on 29 March that it would provide $13.6 million in military assistance in Fiscal Year 2001. Equipment, including a further batch of 36 M101A1 105mm howitzers, which will double the number of the type in ARM service, 30 2.5-ton trucks and 707 MG3 7.62mm machine guns, will account for $6.7 million.
Another $750,000 is earmarked for training, according to David Des Roches, a spokesman for the US Defense Security Co-operation Agency. The USA also pays for the consulting company Military Professional Resources, which advises the ARM on transformation along NATO standards.
Despite the aid, the ARM remains poorly equipped, badly trained and led. Units operating around Tetovo were seen to be short of medical kits and field radios. The large number of reservists employed indicates that the ARM falls short of the official goal of A-class units being kept at full strength at all times. Despite claims of successful transformation, the ARM officer corps is too large, old-fashioned and top-heavy and experienced non-commissioned officers are in short supply.
Lack of training and co-ordination may have contributed to an accident in which at least two civilians were killed and 10 others wounded on 29 March in a village 1km inside Kosovo territory. At the time the ARM was engaged in a counter-insurgency operation that relied heavily on artillery and mortar support.
Although ARM spokesman Col Blagoja Markovski denied responsibility, both the ARM and the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), whose presence in the border area was boosted with an additional 400 UK and Swedish troops, have set up committees of inquiry to establish the origin of what appears to have been a 120mm mortar bomb. An NLA commander in the region, Commandant Sokoli, said his units had no mortars above 82mm.
Unlike NLA fighters on Mount Sar who seem to have dispersed even though the ARM never attempted to gain full control of the heights, their comrades in the Crna Gora hills are forced to fight. The presence of reinforced KFOR troops prevents them from retreating to Kosovo, while the way through the formerly demilitarised Ground Safety Zone inside Serbian territory is blocked by Yugoslav Army troops, who deployed there with NATO consent. Less than 100 NLA fighters are believed to be cornered in the Gracani area and their staunch resistance in the face of heavy artillery fire continues to embarrass the ARM, whose infantry units seem extremely reluctant to engage in an open battle.
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| An ARM 120mm mortar shells suspected rebel positions on 28 March (Source: PA) |