 Before 1991 Kosovo and Macedonia formed part of Yugoslavia which meant unrestricted access between the entities.In 1997, Alajdin Demiri, the mayor of Tetovo, was jailed for raising the double headed eagle flag of Albania from Tetovo town hall and by 2000 the outbreak of hostilities in Tanusevci had spilled into the towns of Tetovo and Gostivar.With the formation of an insurgency, the National Liberation Front (NLA) began seizing territory in and around the Tetovo area.