Western Thrace Insurgency
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| Western Thrace Insurgency | ||||||||
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| Part of the Western Thrace Dispute | ||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| TBD | TBD | TBD | ||||||
| Units involved | ||||||||
| TBD | TBD | TBD | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
 600-800 200-300 |
 700 |
 300-400 100-200 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
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29 killed 16 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.
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
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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
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11 Sep 2023: A NATO peacekeeper is killed by sniper fire during an ambush in Komotini – Bulgarian paramilitary group known as Trakiya Rouge claims responsibility for the attack
- 21 Sep 2023: Russian peacekeeping outpost at the Kulata border crossing between Western Thrace and Bulgaria proper comes under attack by small arms fire and mortar shelling, during which 1 BMP-3 IFV is destroyed by an anti-tank missile, killing 3 Russian peacekeepers – Hellenic paramilitary unit known as Group "Sparta" claims responsibility for the attack
- 27 Sep 2023: A Russian peacekeeper is killed by sniper fire at the Ilinden border crossing between Western Thrace and Bulgaria proper – Group "Sparta" claims responsibility for the attack
Actions involving inter-ethnic fighting
- TBD