Word: slavs
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...hurt Macedonia even more than the extremists. And of course the economy is in really poor shape, with huge unemployment. Many young people simply don't see any future in studying or working, and that's fertile ground for the growth of extremism in both the Albanian and Macedonian Slav communities. But the government is still standing two weeks after it was created, and it will probably hold on for a while. If they manage to avoid serious civilian casualties in the offensive against the rebels, they'll buy some time...
...Macedonia as a state. And it would be the end of Xhaferi, too, because then the guys currently fighting in the hills would take over the political leadership of Macedonia's Albanians. So it was in the mutual interest of Xhaferi and the parties representing the Slav majority to reach a compromise. It's in everyone's interests, except the guerrillas...
That strategy could backfire. Arben Xhaferi, who is Macedonia's top Albanian politician and best hope for peaceful reform, is already growing snappish. He hasn't spoken to his Slav colleagues in weeks. And if any Albanian civilians are killed, he told TIME, he will leave the government entirely. That means Macedonian forces face the near impossible task of holding collateral damage to zero...
...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...
...adjective "final" to describe an offensive not yet launched, their intention is usually simply to raise morale. And the Macedonian military's operations around Tetovo - moving reinforcements and a handful of archaic tanks into city and pounding the surrounding hillsides - appear to be aimed primarily at reassuring Macedonia's Slav majority that the separatist rebellion would not be tolerated. The Macedonian army is neither trained nor equipped for the counterinsurgency operation required to dislodge the guerrillas from the high ground, and might suffer heavy casualties if they tried to charge up the hillsides into the villages held by the rebels...