Macedonia near unity deal

Macedonian troops have been firing at ethnic Albanian rebel positions

SKOPJE, Macedonia (CNN) -- Macedonia's major political parties are close to agreement on forming a national unity government in an attempt to prevent all-out war.

Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said the administration would improve the prospects for peace in the ongoing conflict with ethnic Albanian rebels.

Formation of the government, which includes parties representing both the Slavic majority and the Albanian minority, could come as early as Tuesday.

Georgievski said plans to declare a state of war in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to deal with the insurgency have now been dropped.

AUDIO OSCE special representative Robert Frowick: A volatile situation 36 secs / 390 Kb AIFF or WAV sound Journalist Juliette Terzieff: There isn't much time to form the coalition 30 secs / 329 Kb AIFF or WAV sound Journalist Juliette Terzieff: Albanian rebels and Macedonian government will keep on fighting 35 secs / 375 Kb AIFF or WAV sound EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana shows support for Macedonian people 116K/21 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    COUNTRY PROFILES At a glance: Macedonia Provided by CountryWatch.com

Georgievski told Reuters on Tuesday: "The great percentage of the deal is done. I am optimistic that we will form a grand coalition tomorrow. There is some fine tuning to be done."

The deal came after Macedonian leaders met Javier Solana, the European Union's representative for foreign and security policy, and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson.

The EU and NATO had both argued against a vote, which threatened to divide the Macedonian Slavs and ethnic Albanian coalition.

Meanwhile, Macedonian forces resumed their attack on rebel positions and repeated their call on civilians to leave the area near the border with Serbia.

The United Nations said hundreds of ethnic Albanian refugees crossed into Kosovo on Monday.

The rebels say they are fighting for greater rights in Macedonia, while the government says they are trying to break the area away to join ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

"This country may well be on brink of an abyss, but I believe there is enough common sense and political courage to step back," NATO Secretary General George Robertson said after talks with the Macedonian leadership.

Describing the rebels as "a bunch of murderous thugs" out to destroy the republic, Robertson said: "A downward spiral of violence into another Balkans bloodbath would produce only misery."

'Aggressive policing'

Solana had urged Macedonian government and party leaders to form the unity government.

"I have been working very hard with your leaders and they have been working very hard to reach an agreement," Solana told reporters. He extended his visit to Skopje on Monday to take part in the talks on a "grand government coalition."

Robertson said NATO southern commander Admiral James Ellis would meet Macedonia's military chief of staff to discuss closer co-operation with Macedonian forces, but gave no details.

He also vowed "aggressive policing of the Kosovo border" with Macedonia by NATO-led forces.

Reuters reporters said two Mi-24 gunships attacked positions in the village of Slupcane and two Mi-8 helicopters rocketed targets near Vakcince, where the rebels were thought to be entrenched.

The main battleground is 30 km (20 miles) northwest of the capital Skopje, close to the main Greece-to-Hungary highway.

It is a 15-minute drive from the Yugoslav border, where the highway runs north along the rebel-infested edge of southern Serbia's Presevo Valley.

Macedonian Army spokesman Blagoja Markovski told national radio that 50 to 60 rebels were occupying the village of Lojane, directly on the Serbian border, after a clash with security forces and were preventing its inhabitants from leaving.

Yugoslavia indicated on Monday that it would collaborate with Macedonia to counter the rebels, the state news agency Tanjug quoted Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic as saying.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Red Cross said hundreds of mainly ethnic Albanian civilians were taking refuge in their basements in Vakcince and Slupcane.

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