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Albanians at Doorstep of Macedonian Capital
ARACINOVO, Macedonia, June 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Albanian fighters were still Saturday firmly in control of a suburb of the Macedonian capital Skopje, a day after moving into the strategic town.
A special Macedonian police checkpoint was preventing all but local traffic entering Albanian parts of the town, where a group of at least ten heavily armed fighters of the self-proclaimed National Liberation Army (NLA) were seen controlling the road late Friday, the French news agency AFP reported.
Macedonia's Interior Ministry spokesman Stevo Pendarovski said that at least 100, but possibly far more, Albanians were in Aracinovo and had probably set up a checkpoint at the exit of the town.
Pendarovski added that 3,000 people, both Slav Macedonians and Albanians, had already fled the suburb, mostly heading for Kosova but also for other cities inside Macedonia.
Police said the night passed calmly, with no violent incidents reported.
Control of the Albanian side of the town puts the Albanian fighters within mortar range of the edge of Skopje, while the city's airport lies just seven kilometers (four miles) to the southeast.
Analysts say the aim of Albanian fighters is to exercise psychological and military pressure on the Macedonian government.
Meanwhile, Albanian fighters' commander in Aracinovo said that his men had entered the town to protect the ethnic Albanian inhabitants, accusing the government forces of having fired mortar rounds near the town earlier in the day.
Commander Hoxha said his men had been joined by 163 armed villagers, and said his force was capable of moving on Skopje.
But he said he had no immediate intention of advancing, instead he is planning to stay put until the government opens a dialogue with the forces, which it has so far refused to do.
The Macedonian authorities had cut off electricity to the town, he added.
Meanwhile, Macedonian army on Saturday "tightened the noose" around villages held by Albanian fighters in hills north of the capital Skopje, army spokesman Blagoja Markovski said.
The army pressed ahead with its offensive, opening up on Albanian positions in the villages of Slupcane and Ozirare with artillery and tanks, said Markovski.
He said the operation aimed to push Albanians from the area which controls the water supply to Kumanovo, AFP reported.
The northern city of 100,000 people has been without running water for four days, and health officials have warned of the possible outbreak of diseases if the problem is not resolved quickly.
Macedonian forces had launched a major attack Friday against Albanians, whom they accuse of holding the city of Kumanovo's water supply to ransom, while Macedonia's President Boris Trajkovski presented a partial amnesty to break the country's military and political deadlock.
The assault fell on northern villages held by the Albanians, even though Albanian fighters said Thursday they would hold fire unless attacked and urged the government to match the ceasefire, BBC online service reported.
Fighting was also underway again Saturday around Albanian-held villages north of Skopje, where the army has been battling for more than a month with artillery and tanks to drive the NLA out.
Around 12,000 ethnic Albanian civilians are hunkered down in cellars and shelters in a string of villages along the foothills of the Black Mountains, living in increasingly squalid conditions.
Meanwhile European Union's high representative for foreign policy, Javier Solana, was meeting Saturday with Trajkovski and government leaders to try to trash out a solution to the four-month crisis which has pushed Macedonia to the brink of civil war.
Solana said in a brief statement after his arrival late Friday that he backed a plan outlined by Trajkovski for a partial amnesty for Albanians of Macedonian nationality.
Trajkovski presented parliament with a plan for an amnesty for Macedonian Albanian fighters who lay down their arms and resume civilian life, but said their leaders - who, he said, come from neighboring Kosova - would be "eliminated."
The Macedonian government has been urged by the West to talk to Muslim Albanians and address their concerns of discrimination, while pursuing a moderate military campaign against the fighters.
More than 10,000 civilians have been pinned down in the area for more than a month by Macedonian artillery fire.
Macedonian army has been accused of human rights violations against Muslim Albanian citizens. Human Rights Watch reported that anti-Albanian rioting broke out this past Wednesday, and that Macedonian police not only ignored, but actually participated in the violence.
Albanians say they suffer discrimination and human rights abuses in Macedonia and fight for more political rights.
With Additional Reporting by Samir Hassan
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