Crisis in Macedonia: Summary and Chronology of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- 27 Feb 2001 to 31 Mar 2001
31 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA: The army said that ethnic Albanian rebels and Macedonian forces exchanged mortar and small-arms fire early Saturday along the Kosovo border. There were no casualties on the Macedonian side, but the army said it was checking unconfirmed reports that one of the guerrillas was killed. A rebel commander reached by cellular telephone said he was not aware of new fighting. But he said guerrilla units were operating independently in the rugged mountains and were not always able to stay in contact with one another.
30 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA: Fighting between the Macedonian army and ethnic Albanian insurgents spilled over into neighboring Kosovo, killing two people and adding to international pressure for negotiations to end the violence. One of those killed in the shelling of Krivenik, a Kosovo village just 1,200 yards from the Macedonian border, was a foreign television news producer. The United Nations said 20 people were left wounded by the shelling.
29 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA:
NATO Boosts Presence On Macedonia Border
In
an effort to cut supply routes to ethnic Albanian rebels, NATO
peacekeepers in Kosovo are preparing to strengthen their patrols along the
province's border with Macedonia. Some 400 British and Finnish troops,
equipped with sophisticated surveillance systems, are to assist Polish and
Ukrainian soldiers already deployed in the area.
On the other side of the border, Macedonian security forces are continuing bombardments of the mountains overlooking the northwestern city of Tetovo to dislodge the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (NLA). Four days after launching a major military offensive, Macedonia says that it has advanced to within 200 yards of the border and that there are no more villages under rebel control.
Military analysts say sealing the Macedonian border is almost impossible. But a Polish battalion commander in the area has said the British soldiers' sophisticated surveillance systems and the additional manpower will prove valuable. A Macedonian army spokesman said government security forces were operating near the villages of Brest, Malino Malo and Gosince, where skirmishes took place earlier this month before the later clashes around Tetovo.
28 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA
Fresh Offensive Reported
Government security forces launched a fresh offensive to clear ethnic Albanian rebels from their remaining strongholds. The action comes only days after guerrillas were driven from areas around the northwestern town of Tetovo, Macedonia's second-largest city and the unofficial capital of the country's Albanian minority.
The army and police were reportedly operating near the villages of Brest, Malino Malo and Gosince, where clashes took place earlier this month before the later clashes around Tetovo. Loud explosions were also heard from the region of Gracani, a village where the army came under attack from rebels on Tuesday. International observers saw tanks winding country roads south of Gracani and heard the boom of incessant mortar and tank fire. They also heard tank and artillery fire near Tanusevci.
Ethnic Albanian rebels have threatened to fight back. Commander Sokoli, one of several regional rebel leaders, said the rebels were outraged that the government continued to attack despite their offer of a ceasefire.
26 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA/KOSOVO:
Rebels Said To Be Surrounded In Macedonia
Macedonia said it has renewed its offensive against rebel ethnic Albanian forces around the city of Tetovo. The government said the rebels are surrounded and that the fighting will not stop until "the final takeover of all terrorist positions."
Hundreds of refugees have fled ethnic Albanian villages in the area, some saying they had come under attack from Macedonian forces. A Macedonian army spokesman said forces resumed attacks on rebel positions in the hills around Tetovo on Monday morning, capturing a medieval fortress overlooking the city. International observers said on Sunday that troops supported by tanks and helicopter gunships spent the day slowly advancing on the rebels.
The observers saw more than 200 soldiers, sheltering behind tanks and personnel carriers, capture the village of Gajre after several hours of fighting with the rebels of the National Liberation Army (NLA). However, the troops made no attempt to consolidate their hold on Gajre and, a short while after they had moved on, NLA fighters were seen again in the village.
The government says it has dropped special forces behind the rebel lines as well as capturing the main NLA base in the village of Selce. There is no independent confirmation of these claims. The government says the offensive against the rebels, who have been shelling Tetovo for nearly two weeks, will be over by Monday night.
On Sunday, NATO tried to reduce the flow of weapons to the NLA by allowing hundreds of Yugoslav troops and police into border areas. At least one policeman, a soldier and four ethnic Albanian civilians were wounded in the fighting.
25 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA/KOSOVO:
Macedonia Sends Troops After Rebels; Concerns Remain About Escalation
Macedonian soliders were reportedly advancing under sniper fire into the thickly-forested hills around the city of Tetovo to flush out ethnic Albanian rebels. Witnesses saw a tank and an armored personnel carrier followed by infantry troops make their way up a mountain path. It was the first time government forces, who have been pounding suspected guerrilla positions above the town for more than a week, have sent infantry into the hills.
One soldier was reported wounded by sniper fire coming from rebel positions. Army artillery earlier carried out a sustained bombardment of the hillside, with fires breaking out where shells land. A number of houses were set on fire by the shelling.
A long convoy of army vehicles reportedly passed through Tetovo ahead of the offensive, and helicopter gunships have been seen in action for the second consecutive day. International observers in Tetovo say the conflict is entering a new phase. On Saturday, two MI-24 helicopters delivered by Ukraine a day earlier rocketed suspected rebel hideouts in the hills around Tetovo, Macedonia's second city. Government troops also intensified mortar bombardments of the rebel-controlled hills.
The air strikes came hours after the guerrillas sent two mortar rounds into a Tetovo district, injuring at least four civilians. The guerrillas are believed to have between 300 and 700 lightly armed fighters in the mountains and in villages where up to 20,000 people may still be living.
Military analysts say the rebels are relatively well-equipped and have great mobility. Civilians have been warned to leave the areas at the heart of the conflict. Thousands have done so. The guerrillas have threatened to escalate the conflict if the Macedonian authorities reject their offer of a truce and talks.
23 Mar 2001
KOSOVO/MACEDONIA:
Clashes Reportedly Spread
As the Macedonian army continued its offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels near the country's second largest city, Tetovo, fighting appears to be spreading across Macedonia's northern borders. Two policemen were reported injured in separate attacks reaching the outskirts of the capital, Skopje. President Boris Trajkovski has given field commanders full authority to take whatever action they consider necessary to bring the insurgency to an end.
The latest clashes follow threats by ethnic Albanian guerrillas that they would spread the conflict if the Macedonian authorities rejected their unilateral offer of a truce. In one attack, mortar rounds were fired from nearby Kosovo at a police checkpoint near the village of Gracane, 15 miles northeast of Tetovo.
Police also reported that an officer had been wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade near Skopje, and there has been fighting between rebels and police and special army anti-terrorist units in the town of Caska outside the capital. In Tetovo itself, two ethnic Albanians were fatally shot by Macedonian troops on Thursday. They were killed when they apparently attempted to throw a grenade at a police post near the town's main barracks. Click here to review the CIA World Fact Book on Macedonia...
INSTANT 
13:00CST - 22 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA: Authorities said that police armed for combat moved today into the hills above Tetovo and sent ethnic Albanian rebels retreating. But reports of fighting and sightings of dug-in guerrillas suggested the insurgents were resisting. The police advance began a few hours after the Macedonian president ignored the insurgents' offer of a cease-fire and vowed to "neutralize and eliminate" them. Police shot and killed two ethnic Albanians in Tetovo on Thursday and one policeman was wounded in another shooting, as European powers sought to avert another Balkan war.
MACEDONIA:
Ethnic Albanian Rebels Retreat
A Macedonian police official said ethnic Albanian rebels retreated without a fight on Thursday as heavily armed police launched a push to clear the hills above Tetovo of insurgents. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said police met no resistance as they arrested dozens of "terrorists" in the "search and sweep operation."
Shortly after the government offensive began, the boom of artillery or mortars could be heard, shattering more than 24 hours of calm around Tetovo, Macedonia's second largest city. At least one policeman was wounded when fighting erupted in the village of Gracani Thursday where a group of gunmen had appeared.
The offensive began at 0900 GMT, exactly ten hours after the expiration of a deadline for the rebels to either surrender or leave Macedonian territory. International observers in Tetovo say there has seen no evidence of the rebels returning fire.
Shortly before the deadline expired, the guerrillas proposed a cease-fire but showed no sign of complying with the ultimatum. The rebels said they were offering an unlimited, unilateral ceasefire to permit talks with the government to reach a peaceful solution to the current crisis.
21 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA/KOSOVO:
TODAY'S CENTRAL FOCUS
Macedonian Government Sends Rebels Ultimatum
(EmergencyNet News) -- There was no sign of a rebel withdrawal after a 24-hour ceasefire period declared by the authorities in Macedonia on Wednesday. The government gave ethnic Albanian rebels until midnight to surrender or withdraw from Macedonian territory. Otherwise, it said it will use all available means against them.
The government had said it would only fire on the rebels if its own forces came under attack, but at around dawn volleys of gunfire were heard around the town of Tetovo. It was being reported on Wednesday that the rebels have rejected the ultimatum.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Macedonian army and special police launched the heaviest bombardment so far on rebels holding strategic hilltops above Tetovo, the country's second city. International observers in Macedonia say the rebels are facing increasing diplomatic isolation both at home and abroad, as two Albanian parties inside Macedonia have called on them to lay down their arms.
The United States has reiterated its support for the Macedonian government. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the US was exploring ways that NATO could give more support to the government without committing soldiers of its own. He said: "There are a variety of ways of helping people without putting our troops in - hardware, logistics, expertise, more information-sharing."
There is now little hope of a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The army has moved at least ten Soviet-made tanks, hundreds of troops and artillery to Tetovo in what the authorities said was preparation for a final push against the rebels. A statement issued by the rebels called for a peaceful conclusion to the conflict but insisted they were prepared for war...
*****
U.S., NATO Condemn Fighting in Macedonia
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 21, 2001 -- The United States and NATO condemn the escalating violence ignited by extremist ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and support efforts to quell the conflict.
NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson announced his intent March 19 to seek more troops from NATO's 19 member nations to secure the Kosovo-FYROM border. U.S. officials said the president would decide whether to contribute more troops once the NATO request is received.
About 5,600 Americans are among the 37,000 peacekeepers in the NATO-led Kosovo Force. Another 400 U.S. troops provide logistics support for the Kosovo mission from a base in Skopje, Macedonia.
NATO has raised the profile and number of forces arrayed along the border, DoD spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley pointed out at a March 20 Pentagon news briefing. In the past few days, for instance, KFOR leaders deployed Task Force Viking, a reserve force of about 300 British and Norwegian troops, into the border area.
"U.S. forces and the others in the sector have stepped up their activities considerably in the last few days," Quigley said. Another 150 U.S. troops have moved to the border area in the U.S. sector in Kosovo to supplement the 150 already there. A Polish-Ukrainian battalion is deployed there as well.
So far, peacekeepers have detained insurgents trying to cross the border, interdicted arms shipments and seized weapon caches, Quigley said. American troops "visibly" patrol the border area under rules of engagement understood by all, he said.
The peacekeepers also have increased observation and reporting of activities along the border. Quigley said the territory is hard to monitor because of its sharply pitched hillsides and deep ravines. The few roads that exist are poorly maintained -- area residents still travel mainly by horseback or mule, he noted.
U.S. officials don't have an exact handle on the number of insurgents, but estimate it's in the hundreds. "We do feel the numbers of them are quite small, and they do not represent the views of the vast majority of the people living in the FYROM," Quigley said.
He described the insurgents generally as nationalistic young men who have no families or jobs and whose goal is to disrupt the status quo. "They're hotheads and they're extremists by anyone's yardstick," he said.
The United States "unequivocally supports Macedonia's territorial integrity and the legitimate efforts of the Macedonian government to protect the rule of law," U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on March 19, 2001...
INSTANT
08:00CST - 20 Mar 2001
Macedonian Soldiers Said To Be Poised To Strike
Macedonian troops, said to be backed by heavy artillery, are preparing to retake an area seized by ethnic Albanian rebels in the west of the country. Throughout Monday, convoys of military vehicles were seen moving towards the mainly ethnic Albanian city of Tetovo. Fierce fighting between the two sides went on into the night in the hills around the city, which itself was under curfew after six days of clashes. Stevo Pendarski, the Macedonian interior minister, said: "I do believe that in the next couple of days we have to sweep out the terrain because there is no other way to stop the spreading of violence.:
On Monday, NATO pledged more troops for the Kosovo-Macedonia border area to help cut off supplies to the rebels. The threat of a new assault has prompted concern among ethnic Albanian leaders who fear any attack could cause a backlash among ordinary Albanians. Observers have warned that the crisis threatens to pull in several Balkan nations if it is not contained.
The Macedonian Government said on Monday it was preparing the "final operation" to remove the rebels. Six tanks, four armored personnel carriers and a dozen trucks filled with soldiers were sent in to Tetovo on Monday to reinforce security forces attacking rebel positions. A government spokesman said that the operation would take place when commanders in the field decided there was minimum risk of loss of life.
INSTANT
13:00CST - 19 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA: While NATO pledged to "starve" the rebels by cutting supply lines from neighboring Kosovo, government tanks arrived in Macedonia's second-largest city today to fight ethnic Albanian insurgents. The appearance of heavy armor in Tetovo also was seen to be an attempt by the government to show it would try to prevent the month-long guerrilla war from expanding further southward from its origins along the border with Kosovo.
The government has relied primarily on police and anti-terrorist units to fight the rebels, leading to speculation about the loyalties of the conscript army, particularly its ethnic Albanian members. Aid agencies and officials said that several thousand Macedonians have begun fleeing into neighboring countries including Albania, Bulgaria and Kosovo to escape the growing conflict. EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Macedonia closely and will provide additional details as circumstances warrant...
18 Mar 2001
KOSOVO/MACEDONIA:
Macedonian Forces Pound Rebel Positions Around Tetovo
As diplomatic moves intensify to end the crisis, fighting is continuing in northern Macedonia between government forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas. The sixth day of conflict dawned with plumes of smoke rising from the hillsides to the north of the town.
Macedonian Foreign Minister Srdjan Kerim, meeting EU foreign ministers in Brussels, said he hoped the fighting could be halted, despite every sign that the situation in Tetovo is getting worse by the hour.
International observers say that many Macedonians are calling on their government to take tougher action against the guerrillas. But despite calling up the country's reservists, the security forces have not yet been able to end the violence.
17 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA:
Fighting Continues; Terrorist Event Feared
Fight continued in the hillsides outside Macedonia's second-largest city before dawn on Saturday and government forces fortified their positions against ethnic Albanian rebels fighting for greater rights and recognition. Armored personnel carriers and other police vehicles moved through Tetovo's deserted streets as government troops dug in behind piles of wood and sandbags. Late Friday, police claimed a "successful offensive" pushed the rebels back from Tetovo, although the hills to the southwest remained in rebel control.
The insurgents' message to the Slav-led government is clear: The uprising has deep local roots and the support of many who say they are ready to expand the fight for greater rights. The rebels, whose insurgency started a month ago in a village on the border with Kosovo, appeared determined to expand their struggle from that sparsely inhabited area to Macedonia's principal cities.
Police and rebels exchanged fire early Saturday near the northern Macedonian town of Kumanovo when militants attacked a police check-point there. No one was injured. Two Serb policemen were seriously injured Saturday in Presevo when their vehicle hit an anti-tank mine.
The unrest is linked both to Kosovo, a province in southern Serbia administered by the United Nations and NATO-led peacekeepers, and a buffer zone adjoining it, where Yugoslav troops deployed on Wednesday. Ethnic Albanians in southern Serbia's Presevo Valley planned a rally Saturday afternoon to protest the presence of Yugoslav troops there. Authorities called the demonstrators "extremists" and warned that they might stage a terrorist attack during the rally, then blame it on the Serb government in an attempt to escalate the conflict.
Skopje has instead tried to shift the blame on to Western peacekeepers in Kosovo. Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said the West was permitting the creation of "a new Taleban in Europe", and accused the US and Germany of refusing to act against ethnic Albanian rebels attacking targets in his country. US and German forces head the K-For peacekeeping forces in the eastern and southern sectors of Kosovo which border on northern Macedonia.
On Sunday, Tetovo fell under a government-imposed curfew. Observers say that from now on, only emergency services will be allowed to operate at night.
16 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA:
World Concern Deepens As Fighting Flares Again
New skirmishes were reported on Friday between Macedonian forces and ethnic Albanian rebels with explosions being heard across the northwest Tetovo region. At about 1000 GMT loud impacts were heard from hills above Macedonia's second city and smoke was seen in the woods near television transmitters, a focus of the fighting for the past two days.
Earlier, an Interior Ministry spokesman had warned that clashes might again erupt after a night of sporadic firing. Observers saw paramilitary police take up positions on the outskirts of Tetovo and a small convoy, including an armored personnel carrier mounting a heavy machinegun, head toward the town.
Macedonia's Security Council, a group of top officials, said on Thursday night: "Security forces will take additional immediate and efficient measures to neutralize the terrorist groups and protect the safety of citizens...The security situation is worsening." The Security Council blamed the rebellion on fighters from neighboring Kosovo intent on radicalizing Macedonia's one-third ethnic Albanian population.
So far, Macedonian police have done most of the fighting, which began in mountains further east last week, but on Thursday the Skopje government said the army would be deployed more broadly.
15 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA:
More Clashes Reported
Fighting has been reported on the edge of Macedonia's second largest city Tetovo - the latest flashpoint in the conflict with ethnic Albanian guerrillas. Macedonian authorities said one person was killed and 13 others were wounded in eight hours of clashes on Wednesday, which extended rebel activity more than 40 miles deeper into the west of the country.
International observers said heavy machine-gun fire erupted again near the city after a lull overnight. The shooting has prompted many families to flee the outskirts of Tetovo and head for the capital Skopje or elsewhere. Police have set up checkpoints on the approaches to Skopje.
Macedonian Prime Minister, Ljubco Georgievski, said a civilian was fatally shot by a sniper on Wednesday in Tetovo. Eleven policemen were among the 13 people wounded in the unrest. The Macedonian Interior Ministry says it has information that new flashpoints could spread across the country. It believes weapons have been stockpiled in the Tetovo area for some time.
14 Mar 2001
YUGOSLAVIA:
Yugoslav troops Reportedly Enter Buffer Zone With Macedonia
Yugoslav troops fanned out on Wednesday in a buffer zone overrun by ethnic Albanian rebels, a deployment NATO hopes will quell violence that threatens to escalate into a new Balkan war. Entering at Presevo, the Yugoslav troops moved south toward the villages of Norca, Trnava and Miratovac near the Macedonia border. The deployment brings the heavily armed troops close to rebels who are their sworn enemies and an ethnic Albanian population that deeply resents the Serbs. Though NATO mediated a cease-fire, the rebels have already said they can't guarantee all their fighters will follow it. Still, NATO hopes the Yugoslav troops will calm the zone and reduce the movement of rebels and weapons into Macedonia where the insurgents have been clashing with government troops.
10 Mar 2001
KOSOVO/MACEDONIA/SERBIA:
More Fighting Flares On Kosovo Border
Ethnic Albanian rebels intensified their attacks against Serbian and Macedonian forces near the Kosovo border on Friday. One Serb policeman was killed and three others injured in an exchange of fire near Lucane, just outside the NATO-controlled buffer zone between Kosovo and Serbia. Ethnic Albanians reported three people wounded.
In Macedonia, a policeman was killed when the rebels managed to trap a government convoy for several hours near the villages of Brest and Malino. The incidents come as NATO considers deploying troops along the volatile Macedonian border with Kosovo. At least one policeman and one guerrilla lost their lives in an hour-long exchange of fire involving artillery and heavy mortars, following the ambush in Macedonia.
On Saturday, skirmishes were reported along Kosovo's borders, including a mortar attack on a Serb village in southern Yugoslavia that wounded an 11-year-old boy. Elsewhere, Macedonia said its troops clashed late Friday with about 20 ethnic Albanians trying to smuggle weapons on horseback across the border with Kosovo.
Yugoslav officials said the mortar attack was directed Saturday against the Serb village of Oslare, just outside the three-mile-wide buffer zone. One of the mortar rounds struck a house, wounding the boy in the arm. Sporadic automatic weapons fire could be heard in the area. The mortars were believed to have come from ethnic Albanians in the buffer zone.
In Macedonia, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Saturday that ethnic Albanians tried to slip into the country near the border village of Tanusevci, where US troops took over rebel positions this week. The rebels fled after an exchange of rifle and mortar fire that lasted less than an hour. No casualties were reported.
The situation in Macedonia is said to be deteriorating day by day. NATO and the European Union held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. Later, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said an urgent response was needed. But Robertson also suggested that the fighting around Tetovo was probably not directly connected with the other confrontations between ethnic Albanians and Serbs along the borders between Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia...
13:00CST - 09 Mar 2001
Macedonia-Kosovo Border Clashes Continue
MACEDONIA -- Ethnic Albanian rebels launched strong attacks on two fronts today, defying NATO and US attempts to curb the growing crisis around Kosovo's borders. In the first attack, rebels -- including some believed to have come from Kosovo -- attacked Macedonian forces in Brest, trapping about 100 officials, including a deputy interior minister, in the northern town. Elsewhere, insurgents using mortars and automatic weapons attacked Yugoslav police in Lucane, located in the Presevo Valley of southern Serbia, Yugoslavia's main republic, killing one policeman and wounding three others.
MACEDONIA:
KFOR And NATO Deal Blows to Albanian Gunmen
In marking a step toward halting recent Balkan violence which has alarmed the international community, U.S.-led peacekeepers on Thursday drove ethnic Albanian gunmen from a hamlet they had used to attack Macedonia. In Brussels, NATO directed another blow at the guerrillas by agreeing to let Serbian security forces into a buffer zone along a part of the Macedonian border to stop rebels operating in the zone linking up with those attacking Macedonia.
Neighboring Bulgaria also stepped in, promising to send "hundreds of tons" of military supplies to help Skopje in its fight against the shadowy group that has threatened to bring a decade of Balkan ethnic conflict to peaceful Macedonia. Macedonian officials and diplomats say the armed group appears to be more criminal than political but fear it may stir a revolt if the violence spreads.
The Macedonian Defense Ministry said several dozen men had come out of Tanusevci and from the village of Malino to the east to attack a watchtower during overnight Thursday. The Macedonian forces returned fire and suffered no casualties.
Overnight Friday, fighting went on in northern Macedonia between government forces and ethnic Albanian rebels. Observers said flashes lit up the sky as artillery and heavy mortar shells exploded in what the rebels said was an attack on a barracks full of police and army. The night-time battle followed a rebel ambush on a security patrol which reportedly left one Macedonian policeman dead.
07 Mar 2001
KOSOVO/MACEDONIA:
Clashes Continue With Insurgent Elements Near Macedonia
The U.S. military said that its soldiers in Kosovo wounded two men in a clash on Wednesday near the Macedonian border, where peacekeepers have been trying to help contain an ethnic Albanian insurgency. The incident occurred near a handful of villages surrounding Tanusevci, 20 miles north of the Macedonian capital, Skopje, and the scene of clashes between Macedonian troops and ethnic Albanian gunmen earlier this week. No U.S. soldiers were injured in the incident.
06 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA:
Gunfire Erupts Amid Spreading Violence
Not far from where U.S. peacekeepers were stepping up patrols in Kosovo to stem an ethnic Albanian insurgency, guerrillas and Macedonian troops exchanged fire on Monday in a mountainous border area. Gun and mortar fire was heard Monday in the hills near the town of Tanusevci, a stronghold of the insurgents 20 miles north of Macedonia's capital, Skopje.
U.S. peacekeepers in neighboring Kosovo sent armored vehicles and two dozen humvees to the Serbian border village of Debelde on Monday, patrolling and observing all movements in Macedonia. Two U.S. Apache helicopters and a surveillance plane swooped overhead.
Unarmed observers were advised to leave the area. A spokesman for U.S. peacekeepers said: "We have indications that there are armed groups that have entered Kosovo and are using some of the villages around here to get out of their uniforms, leave their weapons behind and infiltrate the civilian population. We are taking steps right now to prevent that from happening."
The militant fighters around Macedonia's border with Kosovo have not yet officially stated their demands or the reason for their rebellion. However, in the years since the former Yugoslav republic gained independence in 1991, Macedonia's ethnic Albanians been demanding greater rights.
The latest surge of fighting around Kosovo has raised fears of another major crisis that could threaten the region less than two years after NATO and the United Nations moved into the province. Ethnic Albanian insurgents seeking independence have launched similar offensives both in Macedonia and in a part of Yugoslavia just outside Kosovo, the Serbian province now run by NATO and the United Nations.
On Tuesday, Macedonia reportedly stepped up its campaign against the ethnic-Albanian separatists. Its forces launched a heavy assault on one of main rebel bases in the village of Tanusevci. There are signs that separatists' positions are close to collapse.
The authorities have also begun to mobilize police and army reservists, after warnings that the rebels are planning to extend their campaign to other parts of the country. Observers said the international community appears to have given the Macedonians a free hand to deal with the rebels, whom it sees as an unrepresentative group trying to stir up ethnic hatred in one of the few former Yugoslav republics untouched by civil war.
The Macedonian government has called for more active measures, and criticized KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo, for failing to control the separatists who are in part operating from the province. The government has been holding emergency talks and on Wednesday will seek backing at a meeting of the UN Security Council for its demand that KFOR create a buffer zone along the border. Macedonia has warned that the escalating violence could destabilize the whole region.
02 Mar 2001
MACEDONIA:
U.S. State Department Issues Public Announcement
On 1 March, the U.S. Department of State issued the following Public Announcement for Macedonia: "The Department of State advises American citizens to avoid the area around the village of Tanusevci, due north of Skopje on the Macedonia/Kosovo border, due to the current security situation. Since February 2001, there have been periodic security incidents near the Macedonian border in the vicinity of the village of Tanusevci, including an armed clash between Macedonian security forces and ethnic Albanian radicals. Additionally, there are unconfirmed reports of mines on the road between Kodrafora and Malino, near Tanusevci. The police are restricting traffic on the road approaching Tanusevci to local residents and official vehicles..."
27 Mar 2001
KOSOVO/MACEDONIA:
Gunfire Breaks Out On Kosovo Border
According to reports from the area, heavy gunfire broke out on the border between Macedonia and Kosovo on Monday. The exchanges continued for at least an hour near the village of Tanusevci and appeared to involve anti-aircraft weapons and automatic rifle fire. Observers said ethnic Albanian fighters appeared to had been involved in a gun battle with Macedonian security forces.
Tension has increased in the border area recently, and at least two Macedonian-based groups have been set up to fight for ethnic Albanian independence. Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski said the security situation on the border was deteriorating badly. Separate ethnic-Albanian splinter groups from the former Kosovo Liberation Army are being accused of taking part in the fighting both in Macedonia and southern Serbia.
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