Up to 20 rebels killed in Macedonia

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Macedonian military officials said at least 20 rebels have been killed in the latest fighting near the villages of Vaksine and Slupane.

Government forces resumed shelling ethnic Albanian rebels in several northern towns on Saturday as politicians forged a new 'unity' government.

CNN Correspondent Chris Burns characterised the fighting as "low-level" exchanges.

He said troops returned rebel gunfire with volleys of tankfire near the town of Mateice.

Army spokesman Blagoja Markovski told a news conference on Saturday: "Today we have a massive operation. It began at 10:10 a.m. (0810 GMT) when we hit targets in Slupcane. At 10:20 we hit a column of uniformed terrorists to the north of Slupcane.

VIDEO CNN's Chris Burns reports on political talks to end the violence in Macedonia as the fighting continues (May 12) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    AUDIO CNN's Chris Burns: International pressure for the coalition to succeed. 467K/43 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Chris Burns: Talks amid tense crisis 927K/86 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    CNNfyi.com Lesson plan: Continued fighting in Macedonia

"We were most active at about 2:30 p.m. when we hit a column to the northwest of Vakcince. We used artillery and tanks in the morning and helicopters in the afternoon."

The resumption of fighting followed a one-day lull in clashes as government officials tried to move talks with ethnic Albanian groups forward.

Skopje has been negotiating with political groups in an effort to form a unity government and end the fighting with the rebels.

A source close to the government told CNN ethnic Albanians will be given the cabinet positions of labour, local self-government, economics and justice.

Ethnic Albanian insurgents have been battling government forces for several months.

For the last 10 days, rebels have been in a standoff with government forces, who have been trying to flush them from a dozen villages in the country's north.

On Friday, the Red Cross entered the villages during dawn to dusk ceasefires, and evacuated 69 people -- some pregnant and others ill -- but thousands of others remained.

Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Minister Srdjan Kerim quit after a key ethnic Albanian party agreed to participate in the "grand coalition" government.

Prime Minister Ljubco Georgieveski accepted the resignation ahead of a parliament session scheduled for Sunday when the new coalition government will be approved.

Kerim, who won wide respect for his efforts to persuade Western leaders to back Macedonia's bid to quash the rebel insurgency, is believed to have accepted a role in the country's mission to the United Nations in New York.

CNN has learned that the democratic party SDSM will fill the ministry posts of defence, foreign affairs, health and environment.

Georgieveski's party, the VMRO, will keep the interior minister position.

It's not known which posts the ethnic Albanian party PDP will take at this point.

The coalition replaces Georgievski's previous, smaller alliance of parties.

"The parties reiterated their common interest that the security situation in the country should be their basic task," said Georgievski, who said the cabinet would be revealed on Saturday.

The broad-based government is expected to have the two-thirds majority necessary to approve constitutional reforms demanded by the ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up about a third of the country's two million people.

Leaders of the rebel National Liberation Army, or NLA, were not invited to the bargaining table.

Macedonia's government refuses to negotiate with the militants, describing them as terrorists bent on carving up the country and creating a larger ethnic Albanian state in the Balkans.

The rebels said conditions "for sincere dialogue" would be tough to create and instead called for a cease-fire with government forces as a prelude to talks mediated by international officials.

Western officials, however, threw their support behind the coalition government and Macedonia's efforts to quash the militants.

The 15-nation European Union said the coalition agreement sends a "strong message of unity" and called for an end to the violence.

Macedonia to unveil new ministers
May 11, 2001
Macedonia nears coalition deal
May 11, 2001
Fighting resumes in Macedonia
May 9, 2001
Macedonia forms unity government
May 8, 2001
Human shield fears in Macedonia
May 5, 2001
Riot targets ethnic Albanians
May 1, 2001

UNHCR
Macedonian Government
The European Union
NATO

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.