Macedonia may declare war on rebels

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Macedonia is considering a declaration of war against ethnic Albanian rebels.

Prime Minister Ljbuco Georgievski said on Saturday that the issue could be put before Parliament within days.

"We have discusued this issue very seriously but first we have to consult other political parties before taking a decision," Georgievski said following a meeting with President Boris Trajkovski and security officials.

VIDEO CNN's Rym Brahimi reports on Macedonian fears that Albanian rebels are using villagers as a human shield (May 5) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    AUDIO Journalist Vladimir Gjuzelov: state of war declaration feared 660K/61 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Stevo Pendarovski, Macedonia Interior Minister: The rebels must surrender 480K/44.secs. 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

Asked when such a decision could be taken, the premier said: "There is no deadline, it could be Tuesday or Wednesday."

Georgievski's threat came prior to an emergency session of his governing party leadership, which followed a week of attacks on rebels holding ground in the northern part of the country.

He told reporters that one of the issues on the party's agenda would be the declaration of a state of war in Macedonia.

"This what is happening on the territory of Macedonia is war," he told reporters outside the meeting in the Parliament building.

"Those people who are doing this have the aim of conquering the territory."

Under the Macedonian constitution, a declaration of a state of war can only occur with the approval of a two-thirds majority of the 120-member Parliament.

That would indicate that 81 members would have to vote for the measure -- including 26 ethnic Albanian deputies.

The body is expected to meet Tuesday, but the statements from Georgievski seemed to indicate that he planned to try to re-shuffle the existing government and declare a state of emergency to deal with the crisis.

NATO and the European Union, fearing the ignition of a wider conflict, are sending envoys to Macedonia.

The EU's security affairs chief, Javier Solana, is set to arrive on Sunday and NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson on Monday.

Russia has dismissed Western diplomatic efforts as inadequate, and on Friday urged mainly Slav Macedonia to use "decisive force" and said it would "view with understanding" whatever measures Skopje felt were necessary.

Georgievski was speaking hours after soldiers hammered ethnic Albanian rebel positions with artillery fire in an ever-escalating offensive.

Earlier in the day, Macedonian forces resumed shelling ethnic Albanian rebel positions for a third day amid fears villagers are being used as "human shields."

The villages of Vaksince and Slupcane in northern Macedonia came under heavy artillery fire as troops sought to drive out rebels.

The Macedonian government urged civilians to evacuate, but spokesman Antonio Milososki said that only about 150 women and children had managed to leave Slupcane after bribing the rebels with cash and jewellery.

Stevo Pandarovski, of the Macedonian Interior Ministry, told CNN that some 4,000 people in the area were being held as "human shields."

"Our military units will further proceed with the operation until the final end ... It's going to be very difficult to resolve the situation," he said.

But Commander Sokoli, a leader of the rebel National Liberation Army, denied villagers were being held as shields and accused government forces of "indiscriminate attacks against our civilians."

"It is a pity what is happening to the civilian population with the blessing of the international community," Sokoli told the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

On Thursday and Friday helicopter gunships fired on suspected rebel positions in the north, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of the capital, Skopje.

Vaksince and 11 other villages came under attack at the start of the largest government offensive since late March. There have been unconfirmed reports of civilian casualties.

Defence Ministry spokesman Gjorgji Trendafilov said: "We'll use all available means to eliminate the terrorists."

He said that the army had inflicted "serious damage" on rebels -- who the government claim seek to split the state -- with "selective" operations targeting command posts and sniper nests.

The assault was sparked by two rebels attacks resulting in the deaths of ten members of Macedonian security forces in the area in the past week.

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