Western Thrace Insurgency

Western Thrace Insurgency
Part of the Western Thrace Dispute
Date 5 September 2023 - present Location Western Thrace Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Thrace Bulgarians Partisan Front Trakiya Rouge	United Nations NATO PKF EU PAM Russia RU PKF	Thrace Hellenes Néoi Armatoloi Group "Sparta"
Commanders and leaders
TBD	TBD	TBD
Units involved
TBD	TBD	TBD
Strength
600-800 200-300	5,000 2,000 700	300-400 100-200
Casualties and losses
29 killed 16 killed	3 killed 5 killed 4 killed	17 killed 8 killed

The Western Thrace Insurgency is an ongoing conflict in the UN-administered territory of Western Thrace between ethnic Bulgarians, Greeks, peacekeeping forces from NATO, the European Union and Russia. The conflict stems from the Western Thrace Dispute and the aftermath of the Crskan War, in which Crskan troops and NATO airpower forced the Bulgarian People's Army to withdraw from Western Thrace, which they had occupied since the end of the Second World War. The combined NATO-Russia peacekeeping mission has been largely successful in preventing the outbreak of ethnic warfare since its implementation in 1998 as per Security Council Resolution 1107, which transferred security duties in the region from the occupying Crskan Army to the NATO-Russia force. Foreign analysts regard the conflict as part of the wider instability in the Balkans following the start of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine which has resulted in old fault lines reopening in the region, threatening to reheat previously frozen conflicts in Kosovo and Western Thrace, and drag Euro-Atlantic powers into another conflict in the Balkan region.

Ethnic composition of Western Thrace

The main parties involved in the conflict are the ethnic Bulgarian Partisan Front insurgent group and Trakiya Rouge (Red Thracia) paramilitary unit, and the ethnic Greek Néoi Armatoloi (New Irregulars) insurgent group and Group "Sparta" paramilitary unit. Bulgarian rebels have engaged the NATO-EU mission and Greek rebels, whereas Greek rebels have mainly engaged their Bulgarian foes and the Russian mission, who they accuse of covertly supporting Bulgarian efforts in the region thus making them legitimate targets.

Timeline of Events

Actions involving Peacekeepers or Police

• 5 Sep 2023: Car bomb detonates outside the headquarters of the EU Police Assistance Mission in Komotini, killing 2 police officers from Germany and injuring a further 6 police officers from Italy – Bulgarian insurgent group known as Partisan Front claims responsibility for the attack

• 7 Sep 2023:

• 8 Sep 2023:

• 11 Sep 2023: A NATO peacekeeper is killed by sniper fire during revenge operation in Komotini – Bulgarian paramilitary unit known as Trakiya Rouge claims responsibility for the attack

• 13 Sep 2023:

• : 16 Sep 2023:

• 21 Sep 2023: Russian peacekeeping outpost at the Kulata border crossing between Western Thrace and Bulgaria proper comes under heavy attack by small arms fire and mortar shelling. During the attack a Russian BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle is destroyed by an anti-tank missile, killing 3 Russian peacekeepers and wounding several others. The attack lasts 15-20 minutes before the attackers retreat – Hellenic paramilitary unit known as Group "Sparta" claims responsibility for the attack.

• 22 Sep 2023:

• 24 Sep 2023: Russian forces raid the ethnic Greek town of Didymoteicho, near the border with Turkey. During the assault 4 Greek militants – originally believed to be part of Group "Sparta" but later confirmed to be members of Néoi Armatoloi instead – are killed in the raid, which is a Russian operational success.

• 27 Sep 2023: A Russian peacekeeper is killed by sniper fire and several others are wounded in a grenade attack at the Ilinden border crossing between Western Thrace and Bulgaria proper – Group "Sparta" claims responsibility for the attack as a retaliation for the Russian raid on Didymoteicho a couple days earlier

Actions involving inter-ethnic fighting

• TBD