Spy planes to patrol Kosovo border

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SKOPJE, Macedonia -- NATO nations have begun promising extra military hardware to the flashpoint border area between Macedonia and Kosovo.

The United States and France have both pledged to send pilotless spy planes, known as drones, to help monitor the border.

Macedonian has launched a new offensive on hills outside Tetovo after more than 24 hours of calm -- the longest quiet period since the battles escalated last week.

The attacks came after ethnic Albanian rebels offered a ceasefire in exchange for political negotiations.

So far Macedonia's leadership has refused to talk to the rebels although they have offered to begin a dialogue with ethnic Albanian political parties after the onslaught.

VIDEO Watch the shooting, plus soldiers dragging one man away from the car Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Patricia Kelly reports on the EU diplomatic effort to restore peace in Macedonia (March 20) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO CNN's Chris Burns: Rebels may be pulling back 297 KB/27 secs. AIFF or WAV sound Ron Redman of UNHCR: Thousands are on the move 433 KB/36 secs. AIFF or WAV sound    IN-DEPTH Macedonia: Hurdles to peace   •  Balkan hotspots   •  Interactive map   •  Macedonia's military   •  News search   •  Audio/video archive   •  In-Depth: Yugoslavia   •  In-Depth: Kosovo     QUICKVOTE What do you think of NATO's decision to send more troops to Macedonia's border with Kosovo? An appropriate move to help stop violence in the region Too little, too late View Results     RESOURCE NATO troop presence in the Balkans     ALSO U.S. sends spy planes to Balkans Q&A: Macedonia President Boris Trajkovski

Boris Trajkovski, President of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, said the next step in securing peace was to "neutralise and eliminate" the rebels.

CNN's Chris Burns said it was difficult to determine exactly what the rebels want because various declarations have been made by different rebel commanders.

Some commanders have called for a separate ethnic Albanian state while others have called demanded reforms within Macedonia

Two civilians were killed by police in a clash at a checkpoint in Macedonia on Thursday.

The men were shot after one of them tried to lob a grenade at a routine control in the city of Tetovo.

Police set up roadblocks in Tetovo and were searching all vehicles entering and leaving the town.

A local Albanian official said he feared there could be more violence in the city as a result of the shooting, shown on national television.

The incident came as Macedonian forces resumed attacks on ethnic Albanian positions in Tetovo 10 hours after the end of a ceasefire.

Reports from the region also indicated that ethnic Albanian rebels have retreated from their positions.

Burns said an artillery barrage, including "at least a dozen mortar rounds" could be heard in Skopje, 30 kilometres east of Tetovo, as the shelling resumed.

The military pounding, which Burns described as "sporadic", was targeted at the hills in the Sar Planina range where the rebels have been dug-in for the past week.

The shelling resumed at about 10 a.m. (0900 GMT), said Burns. State radio had reported a community centre only minutes earlier saying that locals had seen horses heading for the Kosovo border, indicating that the rebels were retreating.

This was later backed by a Macedonian police official who told Reuters the rebels had left without a fight.

Police had met no resistance as they arrested dozens of rebels in a "search and sweep operation," he added.

The officer said a large quantity of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds, hand grenades, explosives and ammunition were retrieved as police passed through unmanned trenches and machine-gun positions.

Condemnation of the rebels has been almost universal.

The 55-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the government's response to the rebel action had been appropriate. It said it would double its observer mission to 16 to monitor Macedonia's borders.

The U.N. Security Council also unanimously denounced ethnic Albanian attacks in Macedonia and Yugoslavia and urged NATO to step up efforts to prevent guerrillas from smuggling arms.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said: "The whole of the international community has come together to reaffirm the integrity of Macedonia. They (rebels) should understand the methods they have used are neither an acceptable nor credible way of achieving their objectives."

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March 21, 2001
Macedonia ceasefire holding
March 21, 2001
Macedonia begins 'final offensive'
March 20, 2001
Macedonia: A Balkan time bomb?
March 19, 2001
Germans move tanks to Macedonia
March 17, 2001
Balkans tension spreading
March 14, 2001

Macedonian government
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Kosovo Information
NATO
United Nations

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