Skopje, August 8th 2001
Security situation
Worsened security situation with serious incidents.
Shoot-out in Tetovo. On
August 6, according to police and army sources, the extremists from Neprosteno
and Dzepciste attacked the Macedonian security forces points at the village
of Ratae and the city stadium in Tetovo. The Albanian language media and
the inhabitants of the villages of Poroj and Dzepciste, ethnic Albanians
claimed that the security forces broke the cease-fire by a grenade attack
on the villages of Neprosteno and Slatino from their positions in Zilce
and Ratae.
Humanitarian convoy attacked. On
August 7, MCIC organized humanitarian convoy with food supplies for the
municipalities of Vratnica (inhabited by ethnic Macedonians) and Jazince
(inhabited by ethnic Albanians), which were cut-off from Tetovo for almost
a month. While returning from Vratnica, near the village of Odri, the
convoy was attacked and one bullet ended in one of the trucks.
Five extremists killed in police action.
On August 7, according to police reports, five
extremists have been killed and five arrested in a police action in a
house in the Skopje suburb of Gazi Baba. The dead were citizens of the
Republic of Albania. The Albanian language newspaper Fakti claimed that
the five ethnic Albanians were killed while asleep and did not resist
the police action.
Army and police convoy attacked in ambush - ten
dead. On August 8, at the village of Grupcin,
near Skopje, the extremists attacked a convoy of vehicles of the Macedonian
army and police. 10 members of the security forces were killed and 3 seriously
wounded.
Shootings in Tetovo. On August 8, around 13 hours, shootings took place
in the city of Tetovo. Unofficially, there are a large number of extremists
spotted on the streets of Tetovo.
The security situation could worsen further more. This
could stop the political dialogue in Ohrid that should finish by the end
of the day, and the agreement should be signed on August 10 (Friday) in
presence of the EU High Representative Javier Solana and NATO's Secretary
General George Robertson.
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