MACEDONIA: MACEDONIAN FORCES CONTINUE POUNDING ALBANIAN REBEL POSITIONS/ TWO CIVILIANS SHOT DEAD IN TETOVO.

Record ID: 566176

  • Title: MACEDONIA: MACEDONIAN FORCES CONTINUE POUNDING ALBANIAN REBEL POSITIONS/ TWO CIVILIANS SHOT DEAD IN TETOVO.
  • Date: 22nd March 2001
  • Summary: TETOVO, MACEDONIA (MARCH 22, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV: VARIOUS OF SHELLING OF THE HILLS ABOVE TETOVO/ SMOKE/ FIRE HITTING THE SLOPES 0.10 2. GV/MV: VARIOUS OF MACEDONIAN FORCES IN TETOVO SHOOTING AT THE HILLS/ VARIOUS OF SHELLING (12 SHOTS) 1.12 TETOVO, MACEDONIA (MARCH 22, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 3. GV: TWO BODIES ON THE GROUND BY CAR/ MACEDONIAN POLICE BEHIND SANDBAGS/ MAN DRAGGING ONE OF THE BODIES AWAY (4 SHOTS) 1.31 SKOPJE, MACEDONIA (MARCH 22, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 4. GV/MV: SWEDISH AND BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS ANNA LINDHA AND LOUIS MICHEL ARRIVING AT PARLIAMENT (3 SHOTS) 2.11 5. MV/CU/PAN: OFFICIALS MEETING WITH MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENT INSIDE (2 SHOTS) PARLIAMENT 2.30 6. MV/GV: EU FOREIGN POLICY AND SECURITY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA'S ARRIVING/ GREETED (3 SHOTS) 2.43 7. MCU: (SOUNDBITE)(English) EU FOREIGN POLICY AND SECURITY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA SAYING: "I'm not going to give any guidance to the Government, we are going to discuss the situation, I think the situation is getting better. I was here not long ago, we took some important decisions. I think, as you know the persons have been invited to participate in the council and I do think things are getting better, that is my impression and I'm going to check it with the President now. I would always like to see the guns silent, as you know I'm coming from the Middle East where we are trying to do the same, this is what we have to do, we are in the 21st century we have to instruct countries in peace and not in violence. I don't have any miracle formula". 3.43 8. GV: SOLANA LEAVES 3.46 9. GV/PAN: SOLANA ARRIVING AT PARLIAMENT 3.54 10. CU: YSOUNDBITE: (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS CHRIS PATTEN SAYING: "We bring the solidarity of the European union, we had an extremely good meeting with the foreign minister in Brussels on Monday and we are here to discuss the way the Government are handling these difficulties, we want to offer them political support, for example the Government has been committed for some time to ensuring democracy takes strong root here, that they deal with all the problems associated with a multi ethnic society. We've been helping with those programmes and we want to see how we can reinforce that help." 4.41 TETOVO, MACEDONIA (MARCH 22, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 11. GV/MV: STREET WITH TANK IN DISTANCE/ VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS SITTING (5 SHOTS) 5.05 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TETOVO, SKOPJE, MACEDONIA
  • Country: Macedonia
  • Reuters ID: LVA1CJ0X8OZXGJZI00P8RNB3BFOL
  • Story Text: Two civilians were shot dead in the Macedonian city of
    Tetovo on Thursday, a Reuters TV cameraman on the site said.

    Before the shooting inside the city, Macedonian guns began
    pounding ethnic Albanian rebel positions in the hills above
    Tetovo despite an offer by the guerrillas to stop fighting.



    Heavy guns appeared to be targeting rebel positions in
    the Sar Planina hills, where the guerrillas have been holding
    several villages and a swathe of terrain for over a week.

    But one shell hit the slope immediately above Tetovo,
    raising a plume of smoke.

    Macedonia had earlier refused to comment on whether the
    rebel offer of a ceasefire was an adequate response to
    Skopje's ultimatum to the guerrillas to leave their posts by
    midnight last night or face an all-out offensive.

    In the Macedonian city of Tetovo two civilians were shot
    dead. The incident happened at a Macedonian police position on
    the edge of town.

    Police stopped a car with two men in it, apparently ethnic
    Albanians. One of them seemed to try and throw something
    similar to a grenade at the police, who shot the two men on
    the spot.

    The resumption of violence will complicate the job of
    Western politicians speeding to Macedonia on Thursday (March
    22) for hastily arranged consultations.

    Despite the shooting European Union security chief Javier
    Solana said he saw a chance to resolve the Macedonia conflict.

    He added that he "always preferred for the guns to stay
    silent."
    Officials said Solana had been in constant contact with
    the Macedonian government through the night and his message in
    Skopje would be "to hold your fire for now."
    The Belgian and Swedish foreign ministers arrived and met
    for talks with the Macedonian Government.

    The guerrilla truce declaration, coming on the heels of
    truculent statements of defiance, was a major surprise.

    It presented the government and the West with the
    difficult choice of acquiescing in rebel control of territory
    for the sake of calm or carrying on fighting which would risk
    alienating the Albanian community and politicians in fragile
    multi-ethnic Macedonia.

    The Macedonian Army and Interior Ministry special police
    force have been poised since Tuesday to launch an all-out
    offensive.

    The United Nations Security Council late on
    Wednesday(March 22) denounced ethnic Albanian attacks in
    Macedonia and Yugoslavia and urged NATO to step up efforts to
    prevent guerrillas from smuggling-in weapons from
    internationally run Kosovo.

    Although the rebels say they are fighting to improve the
    rights of the large ethnic Albanian minority, Macedonia has
    blamed insurgents from neighbouring Kosovo for the attacks.

    tw/np

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