Shelling resumes in Macedonia

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Macedonian government forces have resumed shelling villages northeast of the capital, believed to be strongholds of ethnic Albanian rebels.

The heavy fighting came hours after Macedonia's prime minister promised he would ask parliament to declare a state of war.

The comments from Prime Minister Ljbuco Georgievski followed the steady bombardment of ethnic-Albanian insurgents in the northern part of Macedonia on Saturday.

Heavy artillery fire intensified on Sunday shortly before noon -- soon after a deadline expired for residents to the flee the area of fighting.

AUDIO Javier Solana, EU Commissioner: There must be dialogue 910K/84 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Robert Frowick, OSCE Special Representative: Macedonia has shown restraint 920K/85 sec. 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

Government troops shelled the villages of Vaksince and Lojane, eight kilometres (five miles) from the Kosovo border.

In the same area, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) northeast of the capital Skopje, the government on Saturday hit "selective" targets, unleashing rockets from helicopter gunships and firing cannon and grenades at rebel command posts and sniper nests.

Georgievski's announcement came ahead of a visit scheduled for later on Sunday by the EU's security affairs chief, Javier Solana. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson is due to join him on Monday.

Earlier on Sunday, Macedonian state media broadcast at five-minute intervals a government appeal for thousands of residents of seven besieged villages in the northern Kumanovo region to evacuate and leave the area of fighting.

In Pristina, the Kosovo capital, Astrid Van Genderen Stort, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said that more than 1,000 people had fled from Macedonia to Kosovo in the last few days.

EU concerns over 'declaration of war'

Also on Sunday, Macedonian Foreign Minister Srdjan Kerim appealed for more support from the European Union in a message sent to Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who was meeting with other EU colleagues in Nykoeping, Sweden.

Swedish Foreign Ministry State Secretary Hans Dahlgren, who was attending the meeting, said a declaration of war was not a step the EU would like to see at this time.

Robert Frowick, special representative for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told CNN that every effort should be made to resolve the conflict through diplomacy.

So far, world leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush, have backed Macedonia in its refusal to negotiate with the rebels, who the government views as terrorists trying to seize territory and carve out an ethnic Albanian state.

The rebels argue that ethnic Albanians here are treated as second-class citizens and are demanding that the Macedonian constitution be rewritten to give them more rights. Ethnic Albanians account for roughly a third of Macedonia's two million people.

Under the Macedonian constitution, a declaration of a state of war can only occur with the approval of a two-thirds majority of the 120-member parliament. That means 81 members would have to vote for the measure --including 26 ethnic Albanian deputies.

The body is expected to meet on Tuesday.

If the parliament approved a declaration of war, President Boris Trajkovski would be given the ability to rule by decree and appoint a government of his choosing.

A state of war would also give the government the power to seal the borders, ban public gatherings and impose a curfew, Georgievski said.

At least seven civilians have been killed since the offensive began on Thursday, said Carlo Ungaro, the OSCE Macedonia mission chief.

The government offensive was sparked by two rebels attacks resulting in the deaths of 10 members of Macedonian security forces in the area in a week.

Macedonia 'war' threat to rebels
May 5, 2001
Kosovo NATO troops under fire
May 4, 2001
Macedonia resumes rebel offensive
May 4, 2001
Soldiers killed in Macedonia
May 3, 2001
Macedonia moves against rebels
May 3, 2001
Macedonia president rejects talks
May 2, 2001
Riot targets ethnic Albanians
May 1, 2001
Macedonia on alert after killings
April 29, 2001
Fighting on Macedonia-Kosovo border
February 26, 2001

Macedonia
The European Union
NATO
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.