Macedonia shelling resumes

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Government security forces have renewed their bombardment of two villages in the north-east of Macedonia.

Shells have been raining down on rebel Albanian strongholds in the hamlets of Vakcince and Slupcane, some 40 km (25 miles) northeast of the capital Skopje.

Albanian militants responded by firing on government soldiers near the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's second largest city, Tetevo.

AUDIO Journalist Juliette Terzieff: Albanian rebels and Macedonian government will keep on fighting 35 secs / 375 Kb AIFF or WAV sound EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana shows support for Macedonian people 116K/21 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Red Cross spokeswoman Anick Bouvier: There are civilians trapped in these villages 465K/43 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Javier Solana, EU Commissioner: There must be dialogue 910K/84 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Robert Frowick, OSCE Special Representative: Macedonia has shown restraint 920K/85 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Journalist Vladimir Gjuzelov: state of war declaration feared 660K/61 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

"The integrity of our country is threatened," said government spokesman Antonio Milosoki.

Senior international figures are in Macedonia attempting to find a diplomatic solution to the fighting, the most severe between government troops and ethnic Albanians since the end of March.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Skopje on Sunday, while NATO Secretary-General George Robertson is due in the Macedonian capital on Monday.

Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh and EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten are also scheduled to visit the region within the next few days.

The latest round of government shelling is said to have driven most Albanian rebels out of the two villages.

Solana, however, asked Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski and President Boris Trajkovski to work harder at finding a peaceful solution to the crisis.

"We know you are going through a difficult moment," he said, "But the EU is going to be behind you."

Georgievski had earlier threatened to declare outright war on the rebel Albanians, a decision which he said would be taken at a parliament session on Tuesday.

Such a move would give Trajkovski the ability to rule by decree and appoint a government of his choosing.

Borders could be sealed, a nationwide curfew imposed and demonstrations banned.

EU foreign ministers remain strongly opposed to such a declaration, believing it could lead to an escalation of the conflict and destabilise the entire region.

Lindh said: "We strongly condemn the terrorist acts of the Albanian extremists.

"We also urged the Macedonian government not to fall into the trap of provocations, which is what they are."

A team of the International Committee of the Red Cross, allowed to deliver humanitarian aid to Vakcince and Slupcane, expressed serious concern over "hundreds of civilians" hiding in basements and described their situation as "precarious."

In Pristina, the Kosovo capital, Astrid Van Genderen Stort, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said that more than 1,000 people had fled from Macedonia to Kosovo in the last few days.

So far, world leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush, have backed Macedonia in its refusal to negotiate with the rebels, who the government views as terrorists trying to seize territory and carve out an ethnic Albanian state.

The rebels argue that ethnic Albanians in Macedonia are treated as second-class citizens and are demanding that the country's constitution be rewritten to give them more rights.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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