Macedonia rebels killed in raid

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Five ethnic Albanian rebels have been killed in a police raid to seize illegal weapons, Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski has said.

The killings, in the capital Skopje, come amid an already shaky cease-fire and a setback in peace talks aimed at averting civil war in Macedonia.

Boskovski told The Associated Press: "The group was planning terrorist activities in Skopje. We tried to arrest them, but during the operation we encountered strong armed resistance."

Police returned fire, and among those killed in the raid in the suburb of Cair was a commander of the National Liberation Army known as "Teli," Boskovski said.

The deaths were confirmed by ethnic Albanians, but no further comment was available.

The government later put on display the hoards of weapons it said police had captured in the raid on the one-storey house.

The collection included six assault rifles, five grenade launchers with about 400 rounds, five pistols, three grenades and combat uniforms.

Ethnic Albanians in the predominantly Albanian quarter of Skopje told Reuters about 25 police arrived around 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) and beat Albanians coming out of early morning prayers in a mosque.

A man in the neighbouring building to the raid, Abdulla Leza, told the news agency: "They took us in the street, made us lie down and held an automatic gun to our heads. We heard shooting inside the house and a lot of screaming."

A total of 30 people had been arrested in the police crackdown, Boskovski said.

The police had acted on a tip-off that rebels were planning attacks from a base in the nearby town of Aracinovo.

In a separate incident in Macedonia's second biggest city Tetovo ethnic Albanians and government troops clashed around rebel-held villages overnight.

No casualties were reported but extensive damage was reported in Neprosteno, Reuters quoted rebel commander "Leko" as saying.

Meanwhile, political leaders from both sides, as well as U.S. and European Union envoys, resumed talks on Tuesday at the lake resort of Ohrid in southwestern Macedonia to try to seal a peace deal.

Macedonia's majority Slav and minority Albanian parties hit a new snag on Monday when Slav negotiators demanded ethnic Albanian rebels disarm before sending a proposed peace deal to parliament for approval.

The hitch came after a positive day in which it was felt the last major hurdles to peace, including official recognition of the Albanian language and the composition of police forces, had been jumped.