Macedonia Vows No Compromise in Its Fight Against "Terrorism"

Macedonia Vows No Compromise in Its Fight Against "Terrorism"

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Macedonia vowed Thursday its fight against an ethnic Albanian insurrection in the northwest would be "uncompromising," branding guerrilla attacks on its security forces an "aggression."

Speaking at a press conference in Skopje, government spokesman Antonio Milososki insisted that a series of clashes Thursday were a "clear response to our ultimatum" to the rebels to down their arms by midnight (2300 GMT) Wednesday.

"From now on our response will be clear and every action by the security forces will depend only on the decisions of our field commanders," Milososki said.

He insisted that the attacks constituted an "aggression" against Macedonia by "extremists and their logistics coming from Kosovo."

"The fight against terrorism will be uncompromising," Milososki insisted, warning that the rebels "have been preparing another attack" on the security forces.