Hague to investigate Macedonia war crimes

The United Nations war crimes tribunal says it will open an investigation into possible atrocities committed during this month's conflict in Macedonia.

The tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, said she would be sending a team to the country to collect more details about war crimes allegations, and that a formal inquiry would be opened they were substantiated.

She was speaking after a meeting with the Macedonian Interior Minister, Dosta Dimovska.

The authorities in Skopje have blamed ethnic-Albanian insurgents of serious human rights abuses, including rape, but so far they have not presented any evidence in public. The tribunal has already said it would investigate similar allegations against the ethnic-Albanian rebels in southern Serbia, and the now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service