The Macedonian city at the centre of fighting between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and government troops has been struck by at least four shells in a serious escalation of the crisis. A Russian television correspondent said that he was near Tetovo's empty central square when the shells, apparently mortars, landed. Macedonia says that about 2,000 people have fled from Tetovo - a largely Albanian city area near the border with Kosovo. NATO has said that it has increased its surveillance of the volatile border.
A United Nations envoy has warned that the situation is mirroring events which led to the Bosnian and Kosovo wars. Macedonia's parliament is holding an emergency session, and the government is considering the introduction of a state of emergency.
