Fear Grows That Macedonia Strife May Hit Capital

As European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana struggled Monday to head off the collapse of a multiethnic unity government, concern grew here that ethnic Albanian guerrillas could move within striking range of this capital.

Government and rebel forces battled in the streets of Matejce, a contested village about 15 miles from Skopje, and the guerrillas fired five 120-millimeter mortar shells near the town of Kumanovo, about 20 miles from the capital, the army said.

“Security forces will not allow this crisis to spill over from this region into Skopje,” army spokesman Col. Blagoja Markovski declared at a news conference in Kumanovo. But he added, “The other issue is how many terrorists might be in Skopje itself and its vicinity and how well they might be organized.”

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for greater rights for Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority, started using longer-range and more powerful artillery Saturday, army spokesmen said. Government leaders say the rebels are trying to split the country.

Recent fighting, including Monday’s battle for Matejce, has been on the northeastern slope of the Skopska Crna Gora mountain. Its southern slope extends almost to the outskirts of Skopje. A key stronghold of the guerrillas, the mountain also reaches into Kosovo, a province of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia that has been a source of supplies and recruits despite efforts by NATO-led peacekeepers to block such cross-border movements. On Monday evening, the army said it had control of Matejce.

After meeting with ethnic Macedonian Slav and ethnic Albanian politicians who recently formed a unity government that is now on the edge of collapse, Solana said the leaders are “very committed to bridging the differences.”

“I found goodwill in everybody, understanding and a constructive attitude,” he said. “But there are still some differences remaining.”

The crisis within the government was triggered last week when leaders of the two ethnic Albanian parties in the coalition signed a joint declaration with the leader of the guerrillas that set out a platform for expanded rights.

Critics charged that by signing the statement, the politicians had given legitimacy to the rebels. Top ethnic Macedonian Slavs in the government, including President Boris Trajkovski, demanded that the ethnic Albanian politicians repudiate the agreement, but so far they have refused to do so, arguing that it is a step toward peace.

This country’s population of 2 million is roughly one-third ethnic Albanian and two-thirds ethnic Macedonian Slav.

Asked about progress in resolving the deadlock over the joint declaration, Solana replied, “We have been working all day on that topic . . . and I think we’re very close to finding a way out of that problem.”

Solana then flew to Budapest, Hungary, where foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union will hold a two-day meeting starting today that is expected to focus largely on the crisis in Macedonia.

Western powers have pursued a two-track policy on Macedonia, offering strong backing to the military effort against the guerrillas, who call themselves the National Liberation Army, but also pressing the ethnic Macedonian Slav parties in the government to move more quickly to address ethnic Albanian grievances. The meeting in Budapest is likely to seek to push that policy forward.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, speaking to reporters on his plane to Budapest from the Ugandan capital, Kampala, said, “I think you will see the ministers press for respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Macedonia, welcoming the newly expanded unity government and the coalition, condemning the actions of the NLA and encouraging the government of Macedonia to move more aggressively on political reconciliation.”

Local television showed Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski, dressed in a camouflage uniform and helmet, entering Matejce on Monday as government forces sought to fully secure the village.

The minaret of the local mosque could be seen blasted onto its side, and many buildings were damaged.

Government artillery and tanks continued Monday to fire at the nearby rebel-held villages of Orizare and Slupcane.

More than 6,000 people have fled the fighting and taken refuge in Kumanovo. Nearly 10,000 have fled into Kosovo, and an additional 2,500 have gone to other parts of Serbia, according to aid agencies. But aid workers believe that thousands of civilians remain in about a dozen rebel-held villages that government forces aim to recover. The government charges that the guerrillas are using them as “human shields.”