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Macedonia Closes Down All Border Crossings to Kosovo
Macedonia on Sunday closed down all border crossings to Kosovo after an outburst of fighting between Macedonian government forces and armed ethnic Albanian extremists in the village of Tanusevci in northwestern Macedonia, according to official sources from the Macedonian capital Skopje.
On Sunday morning, a violent conflict occurred between the armed ethnic Albanians who occupied the village, some 30 kilometers north of Skopje, and the Macedonian government troops.
Three Macedonian soldiers were killed during the fighting -- two died in an army vehicle hit by a landmine when passing near the village and the third died after being hit by sniper fire from the village.
Macedonian police reportedly closed down all the border crossings to Kosovo at 01:00 p.m. (1200 GMT).
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) issued statements separately, condemning the violence by the armed Albanian extremists and expressing support for the Macedonian government's measures to maintain security, stability and sovereignty of Macedonia.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson promised that the NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo will cooperate with Macedonian authorities in tightening security in the Kosovo-Macedonian border areas.
Since Macedonia and Yugoslavia signed an agreement on the delimitation of their common border after 10 years of efforts in late February, the Kosovo-Macedonia border areas have been gripped by a spate of violence by ethnic Albanian extremists.
Since the armed ethnic Albanian extremists occupied the village on February 26, most villagers have fled to Kosovo.
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