Macedonia border battle rages

Macedonian soldiers run for cover

TETOVO, Macedonia -- Fierce fighting is continuing in the border hills of Macedonia as ethnic Albanians clash with army and police units.

Soldiers using mortar and heavy machine-gun rounds attempted to force the rebels out of the mountainous region in a battle that raged throughout Friday.

Fires broke out in three different places along the border -- in the hills above Tetovo, Macedonia's second largest city.

U.N. Balkans envoy Carl Bildt described the violence of the last few days as "one of the most alarming events in the Balkans during the last 10 years."

NATO Secretary-General George Robertson has announced an increase in alliance troops along the Kosovo-Macedonia border.

VIDEO CNN's Chris Burns reports on the fighting between ethnic Albanian rebels and Macedonian soldiers Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO CNN's Chris Burns: There's intense fire going on 296 Kb/27 secs. AIFF or WAV sound Carl Bildt, UN special envoy to the Balkans: It's a very worrying situation 400 Kb/37 secs. AIFF or WAV sound     ALSO Why the rebels are fighting

"Extra troops and equipment and surveillance have already been put there," he told reporters during an official visit to Athens on Friday.

Two ethnic Albanian civilians were wounded by stray bullets, Macedonian state radio reported, while villagers have left the border region.

"We estimate that around 2,000 people have fled Tetevo, both Macedonians and Albanians," said Stevo Pendarovski, a spokesman for the Macedonian Interior Ministry.

Fighting also broke out in other areas of the country including around Kicevo, about 120 kilometres (70 miles) southwest of Skopje, and Zajas, near the Albanian border, where a police station was targeted.

In the northern part of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, fighting broke out around the village of Lipkovo, 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of the capital, police said.

The predominantly ethnic Albanian village is located just south of a border area where troops and ethnic Albanian rebels clashed in the past two weeks around the village of Tanusevci on Macedonia's northern borders with Kosovo.

The Macedonian Interior Ministry blamed the Tetovo fighting on 200 heavily armed rebels from Kosovo who crossed into Macedonia and occupied several border villages.

Ethnic Albanian fighters were managing to evade the NATO-led KFOR forces guarding the Kosovo border and enter Macedonia, officials said.

The fighting comes as Macedonia, KFOR, and Yugoslav forces have all initiated operations near the Kosovo, southern Serbian, and Macedonian borders in the hope of driving Albanian rebels out of the area after restrictions were lifted from the Balkan armies.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it fully backed Macedonian efforts, but expressed concerns the former Yugoslav republic could turn into another Kosovo.

There was panic buying of petrol and food both in Tetovo and in the capital Skopje. Local gas stations in Tetovo are now out of petrol, CNN's Chris Burns said.

Tetovo: Soldiers patrol the city's streets

Ethnic Albanians account for at least a quarter of Macedonia's two million people, dominating western regions of the country and a large section of the capital.

The NATO alliance insisted on Thursday it stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the government in Macedonia, but said it would not send any combat troops to help the Macedonian authorities in their fight against ethnic-Albanian rebels.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said on Friday the West would not allow Balkan borders to be altered by force, referring to fears that the Albanian guerrillas wanted to join their communities in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania in one country.

He added: "We are not ready to accept any violent changing of borders. Such a thing is out of the question."

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Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Macedonian Government
Serbian Ministry of Information
Kosovo Information
KFOR

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