[ALBSA-Info] Macedonia on alert for new ethnic fighting

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Macedonia on alert for new ethnic fighting

By Anatoly Verbin

  
TETOVO, Macedonia, March 15 (Reuters) - Macedonia girded itself on Thursday 
for more of the guerrilla attacks which have prompted international fears 
that ethnic Albanian nationalism is re-igniting the Balkan tinderbox. 

Rebels apparently seeking greater Albanian rights exchanged heavy fire on 
Wednesday with security forces outside the city of Tetovo, bringing the 
newest Balkan conflict to the heartland of the Albanians who make up a third 
of Macedonia's population. 

The fighting overshadowed the deployment of Yugoslav forces in a buffer zone 
next to Kosovo in a NATO-backed effort to clamp down on ethnic Albanian 
rebels in southern Serbia and stop them linking up with the gunmen in 
Macedonia. 

Exchanges of machinegun fire and occasional mortar blasts echoed from the 
hills a mile (1.5 km) just outside Tetovo for much of the day, and fires 
spread through the woods. The local hospital said 11 police and three 
civilians had been wounded. 

Moreover, several thousand radical ethnic Albanians rallied in Tetovo in 
support of the rebels, who call themselves the National Liberation Army 
(NLA), and chanted in appreciation of every burst of shooting coming from the 
mountains. 

"NEW FLASHPOINTS" 

"Unfortunately, we have information that new flashpoints might appear 
throughout the country," Interior Ministry spokesman Stevo Pendarovski told a 
news conference on Wednesday. 

His ministry said it believed 200 "terrorists" from ethnic Albanian Kosovo 
had crossed into Macedonia the previous night. 

If the guerrillas were emboldened by the success of their ethnic kin in 
Kosovo in enlisting the help of NATO against Yugoslavia to establish 
self-rule in 1999, there was no encouragement this time from the 
international community. 

"Any claims these groups have should be put forward in a peaceful manner, in 
a political context and according to democratic principles," EU president 
Sweden said in a statement, voicing "deep alarm" at the latest violence. 

U.S. Balkans envoy James Pardew told reporters in the Kosovo capital Pri
stina: "This is a small group of extremists who are simply trying to use 
intimidation and violence to pursue their own political agenda... 

"These people are seriously damaging the relationship between the 
international community, regional neighbours and Kosovars, particularly the 
Albanian population of Kosovo." 

Western governments have said there are some problems with Macedonia's 
treatment of its one-third Albanian minority but have praised the current 
government, which includes the main ethnic Albanian party, for its efforts to 
address them. 

BUFFER ZONE DEPLOYMENT 

As part of a NATO-backed plan to nip the fighting in the bud, Yugoslav forces 
moved into the southernmost tip of the buffer zone around Kosovo on 
Wednesday, at the point where it meets the Macedonian border. 

The deployment followed a ceasefire between the security forces and Albanian 
guerrillas in the Presevo Valley. 

The guerrillas have operated in the zone for over a year, saying they are 
protecting local ethnic Albanians from Serbian state persecution and trying 
to get the area annexed to Kosovo. 

Despite fears that the Yugoslav forces could be targeted, the deployment 
passed off peacefully. 

NATO worked closely with Yugoslav officers, their enemies in the Kosovo 
conflict only two years ago, in planning the deployment -- a reflection of 
its desire to bolster the reformers who have replaced Slobodan Milosevic in 
power. 

But events inside U.N.-ruled Kosovo on Wednesday underscored the continuing 
volatility in the region. 

Serbs threw rocks and bottles at peacekeepers, attacked three U.N. police 
officers in their homes and set ablaze at least one car and one house, the 
United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said. A grenade was also thrown at 
one house. 

The angry crowds, protesting against the arrest of several Serbs suspected of 
assaulting police officers, also entered the homes of non-Serbs and U.N. 
police.