NATO considers Macedonia fears

UNITED NATIONS -- NATO is considering allowing Yugoslav soldiers into a buffer zone that borders Macedonia in an effort to stamp out ethnic Albanian violence.

Three soldiers have died in two days amid spiralling disturbances between ethnic Albanians seeking unification with Albania and security forces.

Western officials and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's neighbours fear ethnic conflict could shatter the fragile stability of the region if the troubles continue.

RESOURCE Macedonia     AUDIO James Pettifer, Balkan analyst: There's danger of a new Balkan conflict 745 Kb/69 secs. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD Peace in the Balkans

NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said after a meeting of the United Nations' Security Council that a decision on allowing Yugoslav troops into the safety zone could be taken this week.

He added: "Any tension in this part of the world has got to be looked on gravely."

The ground safety or buffer zone runs around the outside of the province of Kosovo's internal boundary with the rest of Yugoslavia, from the Montenegrin border in the north west to the Macedonian border in the southeast.

NATO has already decided to shrink the zone, which was created after the conflict in Kosovo in June 1999, to protect NATO peacekeepers and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians.

Sections of the zone have instead provided territory for between 200 and 800 ethnic Albanian rebels to launch attacks.

Macedonia, which has already asked for a larger NATO presence, threatened on Tuesday to take action with or without international help to avoid territory being yielded to rebels.

President Boris Trajkovski told a parliamentary session: "I can assure you that not an inch of Macedonian territory will be given to extremists.

"We have enough force to deal with terrorism but every assistance from the international community is welcome."

His call for more NATO troops was supported by the security and human rights watchdog, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Romanian Ambassador Liviu Bota, whose country holds the chair of OSCE, said the violence "can only complicate and deteriorate the fragile equilibrium in the region... In the absence of appropriate action, the risk of destabilisation of the entire region will further increase."

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called on both ethnic Albanians and Macedonians to exercise restraint.

"I hope that both sides will realise this (violence) is not the solution to any problem and that Macedonia should be free to live in peace without being attacked."

Bulgaria has offered to send troops to Macedonia in an effort to keep stability in the region, while Albania's President Rexhep Meidani said in a television statement that he condemned all acts of violence in Macedonia blamed on ethnic Albanian extremists.

NATO has said it will send more peacekeepers to the border region and it has stepped up patrols to prevent the rebels from using Kosovo for raids into Macedonia, Robertson added.

The rebels are believed to have ties with ethnic Albanian rebels fighting Yugoslav forces in the Presevo Valley of southern Serbia about seven miles (10 kilometres) to the northeast.

Ethnic Albanians in Macedonia have demanded more rights since the former Yugoslav republic became independent in 1991.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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OSCE
Macedonian Government

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