Albanian rebels fighting Macedonian security forces on Wednesday rejected Skopje's ultimatum to surrender or withdraw from positions around the embattled town of Tetovo or face renewed army attacks.
"We will not leave our positions, we are going to advance and open new fronts," an official of the self-proclaimed National Liberation Army based near the northwestern Macedonian town told AFP by phone.
"I think the Macedonians should take us seriously and not throw ultimatums at us," said the guerrilla spokesman.
"We are an organized army and we hold positions not only around Tetovo but in all the Albanian areas of Macedonia," he warned.
Macedonia has a large Albanian minority concentrated in the northwest along the borders with UN-run Kosovo.
The Macedonian government ordered its army cannon, which joined the fray for the first time Tuesday, to hold fire for 24 hours until the end of Wednesday to give the rebels a chance to either give up or pull out.
It said if the rebels did neither it would press ahead with its tough counter-offensive on their positions, which include around 10 still-inhabited villages on the mountain slopes above Tetovo, a large, mainly Albanian town.
Special police have been fighting with rebels on the very edge of the town for a week. The army was authorized to lend its heavy firepower to their efforts after EU foreign affairs supremo Javier Solana visited Skopje to voice his support for a "proportionate" military response to the "terrorists." -- PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AFP)
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