STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1372000/1372397.stm BBC News Wednesday, 6 June, 2001, 08:06 GMT 09:06 UK Three soldiers die in Macedonia clashes The fighting is said to be the heaviest since March Three Macedonian soldiers have been killed and six other men wounded in fierce overnight fighting above Tetovo, the country's main ethnic Albanian town. It is the heaviest toll suffered by Macedonian forces during the ethnic Albanian insurrection since an attack on 28 April left eight soldiers dead. It also marks the return of heavy fighting to the north-west of the country, after a month in which the main focus of the conflict has been a string of villages in the north of the country, near the border with Serbia. Army officials said the three soldiers died during an ambush as they were escorting a medical team to help the six wounded in fierce clashes that broke out late on Tuesday. Ethnic Albanian fighters - who launched a rebellion in February - say they are fighting for greater rights for their minority, up to a third of the population. However, it's widely believed that they want to adjoin Albanian-populated villages to neighbouring Kosovo. Macedonian officials claimed to have driven the rebels from the Tetovo area at the end of March, but there have been sporadic clashes there in recent weeks. Macedonian radio said Tuesday's fighting began when rebels attacked army positions near the mountain village of Gajre. The army used tanks in response and residents said columns of billowing smoke could be seen rising from the area. Appeal for help Earlier, Macedonia asked the United States and western European countries to use their influence to stop financial help from Albanian �migr�s reaching ethnic-Albanian rebels. Donald Rumsfeld made a brief stopover in Skopje Defence ministers from Balkan countries are to meet on Wednesday in northern Greece in talks expected to focus on the continued conflict in Macedonia. On Tuesday, Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski warned of an upsurge in the violence. "We expect terrorist attacks to intensify in the coming days and we are prepared to respond and attack resolutely," he told journalists. "We have groups of terrorists who have no intention of withdrawing from Macedonian soil," he said. Commando plea The Macedonian Government has asked the US for help in training special military commandos to fight the rebels. The request was made by Macedonian Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski during a meeting with US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, who made a brief stopover in Skopje on his way from the Ukraine to Kosovo. The Macedonian minister also appealed to the US and Europe to help stop ethnic Albanian �migr�s in the West from sending money and other support to the rebels, a Macedonian defence ministry spokesman said. After the stopover Mr Rumsfeld flew to Kosovo, where he met American troops. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
