Ten Macedonian soldiers were killed Wednesday in an Albanian rebel ambush west of Skopje, Macedonian military sources said, in the heaviest toll for a single day since fighting broke out six months ago.
The attack on a convoy of government troops took place near the village of Grupcin, on the road leading to the northern flashpoint city of Tetovo.
It touched off fighting that the sources said raged for more than two hours.
"The fighting is continuing on the road between Skopje and Tetovo which has now been blocked off," a military official said at 1030 GMT.
The incident was likely to cast a cloud over ongoing peace talks between the country's Macedonian and ethnic Albanian parties, but there was no immediate comment from Macedonian officials.
The latest round of discussions, conducted under the auspices of international mediators, resumed at midday in the southwest resort town of Ohrid on an accord aimed at paving the way for NATO troops to enter the country to disarm the rebels - SKOPJE (AFP)
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