[1] Beginning in early 1997, the Albanian government lost control of much of their country, culminating in the desertion of many police and military units and the looting of their armories.
The eleven nations that participated in this operation were Austria (60 troops), Belgium (15), Denmark (110), France (950), Greece (800 or 803[2]), Italy (3800), Portugal, Romania (400), Slovenia (20), Spain (350) and Turkey (760).
[2][3] Beginning on April 15, 7,265 troops were deployed under the command of the operation[4] - of which more than half were Italian nationals - and quickly restored order in Tirana.
The primary objectives of the mission included apprehending criminals and collecting looted weapons, but in later months operation troops also helped retrain Albanian forces to modern standards.
[1] Operation Alba was launched in response to the serious social crisis that had followed the collapse of major pyramid schemes in Albania in early 1997.
[5] Early operations were carried out by individual countries to evacuate their citizens, but Alba was launched in an effort to resolve more extensive issues.
[7] Expecting the possibility of having to resort to force to restore order in Albania, Italy took care to acquire a mandate of the United Nations, the support of the OSCE, and the participation of a number of allies; when this was accomplished, Operation Alba was launched.
[2][11][12][13] The operation began on April 15, 1997 with a deployment of 450 French to Durazzo aboard the FS Orage and 200 Italian paratroopers to an airport near Tirana.