Rebels Reportedly Negotiating a Surrender

Macedonia claimed that ethnic Albanian insurgents ensconced in a suburb of Skopje, the capital, were negotiating their surrender, while a senior European Union official said the two sides had agreed on a cease-fire in the area.

The surrender claim, from an official who requested anonymity, came amid intense diplomatic pressure on Macedonia to restore a cease-fire broken Friday by renewed fighting around Aracinovo.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after talks with the government that “there will be a cease-fire, and I hope very much that” it will extend to the rest of the country.