Clashes reignite Macedonia conflict

Villagers are evacuated during lull in fighting

VAKCINCE, Macedonia -- A recent lull in the fighting in Macedonia was shattered with some of the heaviest exchanges since the upsurge of violence began in February.

The heavy fighting that erupted between government forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas on Monday involved tanks, artillery and combat helicopters and ended a five-day lull in the conflict.

While the army reported no casualties, the insurgents said five civilians were wounded.

Each side accused the other of starting the day-long firefight around the villages of Slupcane, Vakcince and Opae.

On Sunday, the Red Cross evacuated 38 women and children from Vakcince and nearby Lojane.

Many more are believed to remain huddled in the cellars of their houses.

Scotching speculation that Vakcince might be empty after two weeks of shelling, rebels opened fire on Macedonian army positions early in the day and kept up machinegun fire until the end of the afternoon.

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"This has been a day with the largest number of provocations from the terrorists, firing on our positions from several locations," said army spokesman Colonel Blagoje Markovski.

"The most furious provocation came from the village of Vakcince, from a house some 400 metres from the mosque.

"The army responded to the provocations using adequate force. We had to use artillery, tanks and helicopters."

A guerrilla commander called Sokoli told Reuters that rebel fire was heavier in Vakcince because the frontlines are closer.

He accused the army of long-range, indiscriminate shelling of civilian targets elsewhere in the zone of conflict.

In Opae, government helicopter gunships and tanks shelled ethnic Albanian positions for control of the third of the village in rebel hands.

Macedonian army spokesman Blagoja Markovski told the Associated Press that the rebels initiated the fighting, attacking from nearby Slupcane and Vaksince using snipers and machine guns for about an hour at dawn. The military responded with artillery fire, he said.

At least 1,000 ethnic Albanians civilians are still living in the northern villages where there rebels have dug in, many of them short of food and water, Defence Ministry spokesman Gjorgji Trendafilov said.

The fighting between the government and the rebels first erupted in February, with guerrillas launching a rebellion to secure more rights for ethnic Albanians, who make up a third of Macedonia's population.

The Macedonian government initially threatened to "eliminate" the rebels unless they accepted a deadline last week to give up their armed struggle for more rights.

But under intense pressure from the West, the government later promised restraint.

Western officials fear that full-scale warfare in Macedonia could engulf the whole Balkans. As a result, Macedonia's political parties, including the ethnic Albanians, recently formed a unity government to seek a political solution.