German Ministry of Defence moved in two Leopard 2 tanks from Prizren, in Kosovo, in order to protect the base. Half of the 1,200 German troops were evacuated to another location eight kilometers away. By 20 March, another 400 KFOR German combat troops equipped with Marder armoured vehicles and more Leopard II tanks had been deployed to Tetovo. Civilians continued on with their daily business, but the streets became empty. Cafes and shops were deserted and electricity was cut off to part of the town. For the cafes that remained open, it was common to see some people taking the risk of watching gun battles. In the battle for Tetovo, the Macedonian Army was frequently outmanoeuvred by the highly mobile guerrillas and their military leader, Gezim Ostreni. Born in Debar in western Macedonia, Ostreni was a veteran who had served in the Yugoslav Army and until April 2001 was a deputy commander in the Kosovo Protection Corps. Ostreni was typical of ethnic Albanians, who saw no future for themselves in the post-independence Macedonian Army whose officer corps was dominated by Macedonians. On 21 March, the two sides witnessed a brief cease fire. The day was quiet without a single shot. By this point in time, however, thousands of residents had fled the city. Those whom remained pressed on with life as best as they could while both factions licked their wounds. It was also on this day that the Macedonian army scaled Kale Hill under cover of artillery and gunfire. On 22 March, after two months of sporadic violence, two Albanians were gunned down near the football stadium in the eastern districts. The two men approached a Macedonian checkpoint in a white car, and tossed a device to the policemen. The men were shot immediately. Western and Albanian media reported that Macedonian forces mistook a cellphone for an explosive device, though it was later established that it was, indeed, a hand grenade. Images of the dead men became famous, marking the insurgency's first martyrs and bringing Macedonia's violence to the world spotlight. The Macedonians proceeded to beef up their security forces and deployed T-55 tanks in support. In Tetovo's old town, a sandbag checkpoint near the Church of St. Nicholas suffered frequent shelling from houses in the highlands. Over the next few days, several skirmishes broke out throughout the hills. A Macedonian Mi-17 helicopter crashed while ferrying police forces to