Macedonian Police Kill 5 Separatists in Raid

Violence struck Macedonia’s capital Tuesday when police conducted a predawn raid that resulted in the deaths of five members of the National Liberation Army, the rebel group that says it is fighting for greater rights for ethnic Albanians.

There were no police injuries reported in the incident, the first of its kind in Skopje since the current conflict erupted in February.

The raid came as leaders of the country’s main political parties--two ethnic Macedonian and two ethnic Albanian--had reached the final stages of negotiations for a deal to end the fighting, which has brought the country to the verge of civil war. The talks are expected to continue for at least another day in the resort town of Ohrid.

According to police, the five men who were killed in the raid were commanders of guerrilla units and were plotting a “terrorist action” in the capital.

Although the rebels control a number of small villages and towns in northern and western Macedonia, it became clear for the first time Tuesday that they have infiltrated Skopje.

Macedonia has about 2 million people, and ethnic Albanians make up its largest minority, accounting for at least 25% of the population.

“This has been one of the most successful actions of the Interior Ministry so far in discovering terrorist and extremist groups,” Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski said on television.

In Macedonia, the police as well as special forces units are under the authority of the Interior Ministry, which is part of the central government.

Boskovski is considered a hard-liner who would prefer to end the fighting by using military tactics against the guerrillas rather than relying on a peace deal.

Albanians contended that Boskovski set up the operation to derail the peace process by creating the appearance of an ethnic threat when in fact they are eager for a peaceful resolution. They also said the raid was designed to precipitate a backlash from their side and thus further slow peace efforts.

“This is strong provocation [done] in order to make a scene of a major inter-ethnic conflict,” said Demdmush Bajrami, an ethnic Albanian member of parliament from Skopje.

“Peace has a chance now at the table in Ohrid,” Bajrami said. “But we would not be surprised if this kind of raid occurred again . . . [because] peace is not in the interest of Boskovski and his crew. . . . Boskovski has bloodied the peace.”

Representatives of the National Liberation Army were quoted on Albanian television denouncing the police action as a violent attack on unarmed men and denying that there were any plans for armed activity in Skopje.

From the ethnic Macedonian perspective, the raid provided evidence that the rebels have far from peaceful intentions.

The raid occurred in a poor area in the ethnic Albanian section of Skopje. It is a warren of alleys and narrow streets leading to small houses with corrugated iron roofs and cramped courtyards, where laundry is strung and herbs are grown in metal cans.

According to both police and people who were in the house next to the one where the rebels were killed, the raid took place about 5 a.m. The guerrillas had arrived Monday from Aracinovo, a town near Skopje that rebels occupied and then left after being escorted out by North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops.

It was unclear whether there was a struggle after police entered. According to authorities, they met resistance and fired in self-defense. But only one bullet hole was visible in the walls of the house, and neighbors said they heard nothing except the sound of heavily muffled gunshots, as if the police were using silencers.

“I heard a low sound and then a scream or two screams. That was all,” said Mazad Halimi, 30, a tailor who lives next door with family members.

The police arrested four men who were living in her house, including two of her brothers and her uncle, Halimi said. The men had nothing to do with the rebels and did not even know they were there, she said.

In contrast, Macedonian television, quoting police, reported that five men were arrested and that they were also accused of plotting terrorist acts.

Police said they seized an enormous quantity of arms, including grenades, grenade launchers and ammunition, from the small rooms where the rebels were staying.