Shuttle diplomacy for Macedonia

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana is to return to Macedonia after briefing NATO foreign ministers on peace efforts.

Tuesday's announcement came as fresh fighting in the north of the Balkans nation saw Macedonian forces pound a village with artillery and helicopter gunships as ethnic Albanian rebels put up a vigorous resistance.

Troops from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia moved into Matejce, one of around a dozen villages under rebel control since May, on Monday but the army said on Tuesday that soldiers were coming under fire from inside the village.

"Macedonian forces have taken part of Matejce but they are still being fired at by guerrillas who are in houses and the mosque," army spokesman Blagoja Markovski told Reuters. "It's a difficult situation."

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Ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army rebels occupied the villages in the northeastern Kumanovo area early in May. The rebels say they are seeking greater rights and recognition for Macedonia's minority ethnic Albanians.

The government argues that they are terrorists bent on grabbing land and carving out an ethnic Albanian mini-state linked with the neighbouring Serbian province of Kosovo.

The clashes are set against a backdrop of a political crisis with the majority Slav parties furious at revelations of negotiations between their ethnic Albanian political partners in government and the rebels.

Solana held several hours of talks with Slav and ethnic Albanian political leaders in the capital Skopje on Monday in an attempt to prevent the collapse of the coalition government he helped to pull together just weeks ago.

"I found goodwill in everybody -- and understanding -- but also some differences remain," Reuters reported Solana saying. "I will keep in touch with all leaders. The government of unity is the best instrument to face the political challenge."

NATO and the European Union fear that Macedonia could slide into civil war if the grand coalition breaks up, leaving the Slav-dominated security forces to handle an ethnic Albanian insurgency by military means alone.

The five-month-old ethnic Albanian insurgency is high on the agenda of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Budapest.

"There is still too much hatred and revenge," warned NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, opening a two-day meeting in the Hungarian capital.

"Our meeting today sends a clear signal that we remain determined to bring peace and stability to the entire Balkans region."

They are expected to issue a first joint statement with the EU, urging "zero tolerance" of ethnic Albanian extremism in the southern Balkans, alliance diplomats said before talks began.

CNN's Chris Burns has said there are fears of a humanitarian crisis if fighting continues, with food and other supplies running low for the many civilians trapped in the area, with aid agencies unable to reach them.

On Tuesday, the Macedonian army said about 800 civilians from Matejce and the surrounding area were heading south on foot and in cars towards Skopje.

Up to 3,000 villagers have crossed into Serbia, Yugoslavia's larger republic in the past weeks, while an army spokesman said that more then 1,300 left the area during the weekend.

Macedonian media and government sources reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross was trying to negotiate an evacuation of civilians from the besieged villages.