New Clashes Follow Riots in Macedonia
New fighting broke out in Macedonia on Tuesday, a day after riots were sparked when U.S. troops helped NATO evacuate armed ethnic Albanian rebels from a besieged town.
New clashes were reported near the village of Nikustak, about six miles northeast of Aracinovo, a suburb of the capital, Skopje. Aracinovo was at the center of the conflict the day before.
American troops provided Humvees, trucks, buses and ambulances Monday to support a NATO effort to move rebels out of Aracinovo and end fighting there.
Macedonian army spokesman Col. Blagoja Markovski said government forces were attacked Tuesday with mortar, sniper and automatic fire near Nikustak.
Police in Tetovo, Macedonia’s second-largest city, said their positions on the outskirts of the city came under rebel attack and that government forces returned fire. The rebels also attacked a police position near the city stadium, a military spokesman said.
The fighting came amid international efforts to avert a full-scale war between ethnic Albanians, who make up at least a quarter of the population, and majority Slavs.
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