Macedonia resolves government crisis

UNHCR says 18,000 people have fled the conflict

Macedonia's national unity government has resolved a stand-off between its Macedonian and ethnic Albanian parties, after the intervention of EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Co-operation between the two sets of parties ground to a halt last week when ethnic Albanian politicians signed a peace agreement with the rebels.

Both sides now say they will work together to find a peaceful solution to the insurgency by ethnic Albanian guerrillas, who claim to be fighting for improved rights and recognition for the minority Albanian population.

But even as the deal was announced on Tuesday, government forces bombarded the northern villages of Slupcane and Matejce, causing thousands more civilians to flee the area.

Isolate insurgents

The peace agreement with the rebels angered Macedonian politicians, who refuse to negotiate with the guerrillas.

Mr Solana says the coalition is the best framework for peace

But a joint statement released by President Boris Trajkovski and the main political leaders after Mr Solana's intervention said the agreement was "no longer relevant".

"[Party leaders] have all agreed that the future of the Republic of Macedonia can only be decided by democratically elected representatives, working through a peaceful process," the statement said.

Mr Solana flew back from Skopje to Budapest to report on his deal to a meeting of Nato officials and EU foreign ministers on Wednesday morning.

Mr Solana said that while problems remained, the broad coalition was the best framework in which to solve them.

It's a random campaign aimed at civilians and the total destruction of our infrastructure

Mayor of Lipkovo

"We have to try to isolate those who are not part of the political process - who do not want to participate in the political process," he told the BBC.

The parties have set 15 June as a deadline for substantial progress in calming ethnic tensions.

Mr Solana says this will include greater Albanian participation in the state structure and better recognition of the Albanian language.

Coalition's 'slight' hope

Arif Pollozhani, vice-president of one of the main Albanian parties, the DPP, said his party's priority in the coalition was to try to influence the military situation.

The army continues to pound the rebels

"When we entered the government it was our aim to find a peaceful way for this situation and not to begin this war with armed groups in the region," he said.

But analysts give the coalition only "slight" chances of survival.

"The demands of the Albanians are irreconcilable with the demands of the majority of the population of the republic," said Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute.

Civilians flee

On the ground, the army on Tuesday continued its massive offensive against rebel-held villages, bombarding Slupcane and Matejce.

On Wednesday the army said it would hold fire to allow civilians to leave the area.

Two thousand civilians fled Matejce, which is still partly in rebel hands during Tuesday's shelling.

Many have gone to the nearby village of Lipkovo. There are now 15,000 people in the area of the village whose normal population is 4,500.

Lipkovo's mayor, Hysamedin Halili, says they are running out of food and medicine and no humanitarian aid has been able to get to the village.

"It's a random campaign aimed at civilians and the total destruction of our infrastructure"

The United Nations said 18,000 people had fled Macedonia since the beginning of the conflict, and 9,000 had been internally displaced.