Macedonian authorities have imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the northwestern town of Tetovo. This follows five days of fighting in the city between government forces and ethnic Albanian rebels. Earlier, a Macedonian interior ministry spokesman said that the country has begun mobilising its army in response to the uprising by ethnic Albanian rebels. More than 10,000 people gathered outside the parliament today to urge the Macedonian government to end the Albanian rebels' attack on the northwestern town of Tetovo. It is feared that such a move could lead to civil war. The demonstrators called on the government to take "urgent action against the terrorists so we can go home."
As the Macedonian parliament met in emergency session in Skopje more than 3,000 angry residents from Tetovo protested outside, calling for firmer action or else weapons to defend themselves. They later emerged with a statement saying that "urgent and effective measures will be taken to prevent any worsening of the situation." The President was jeered when he appealed for calm and promised urgent measures to deal with the crisis. The fighting is taking place close to their homes and already thousands of residents have fled. Today the streets are virtually empty and only a handful of people turned up this morning at this small Orthodox Church.
NATO in its strongest statement yet, has said that it will seal off the border with Kosovo to prevent rebels and supplies from infiltrating into Macedonia. It also threatened to respond with force if any attempt is made to attack its base in Tetovo where German troops have been caught in the crossfire.
Meanwhile, the Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski has criticised US and German “inaction” by their failure to arrest extremist leaders in Kosovo. Both country’s troops guard the Kosovo Macedonia border.
The Russian Foreign Minister has warned that the international community must end the conflict in Macedonia immediately or face a regional war in the Balkans. Igor Ivanov said that Russia is willing to contribute to reaching stability and peace in the region.
The German Defence Minister has also warned against allowing the conflict in Macedonia spread through the region. However, Rudolf Scharping down played the possibility of NATO involvement, saying that he had confidence in the Macedonian government.
