Word: macedonia
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...Both the Albanian and Slav populations of Macedonia have been radicalized by the new insurgency. Voices of moderation are growing fewer. There's a lot of anger in the Slav population about the Albanian guerrilla offensive, particularly because Macedonia took in refugees from Kosovo two years ago, and they feel like they're being paid back with this violence...
...There was a major protest over the weekend by Macedonian Slavs from Tetovo, calling for civilians to be armed. On the Albanian side in Macedonia, the political leadership seems to be playing a double game. On the one hand they're making conciliatory statements to the Macedonian audience. On the other hand, when they're talking to foreign journalist they're calling for things Macedonia will never accept, such as creating a federation. The government won't accept this solution, because they see it as an inevitable step toward the disintegration of Macedonia and the creation of a Greater Kosovo...
...Surely, though, if the Macedonians see this as an insurgency exported from Kosovo, then they could see their way clear to continue working with Macedonia's Albanian population...
Since the early 1990s, Western officials have feared a spillover of violence into Macedonia, the only Yugoslav republic to have won independence without bloodshed--thus far. The republic's 30% Albanian, 60% Macedonian-Slav mix is as volatile as any other in the former Yugoslavia, but a progressive government and Western aid have kept things stable. In recent weeks, however, a couple of hundred former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army attacked Macedonian army and police positions while another group assailed Serbian security forces in the nearby Presevo Valley--each in an apparent attempt to carve out additional territory...
...their own making. A three-mile-wide buffer zone along the Kosovo border, created by NATO to keep Serbian forces at bay, has become the perfect working environment for Albanian rebels. NATO's new plan allows for lightly armed Serbian troops to patrol a section of the zone near Macedonia in order to disrupt rebel incursions. Meanwhile, in Kosovo, U.S. troops have stepped up their patrols...