Fighting threatens Macedonia deal

The fighting can be seen from the capital

Fierce fighting in northern Macedonia has spread close to the capital, a day before the scheduled signing of a peace deal aimed at averting civil war.

Plumes of smoke can be seen rising from hillsides near Skopje - reports say ethnic Albanian rebels are coming under sustained shelling from government troops for attacking a police post.

But despite the continued clashes, the government said it intended to observe a unilateral ceasefire beginning at 1930 local time (1730 GMT) to "give peace a chance".

And a Nato official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that rebels were also being asked to respect a stop to the fighting.

From where I was standing I could see a third of the village of Ljuboten in flames

Eyewitness

The long-awaited peace deal between political leaders from the Macedonian and ethnic Albanian communities is intended to end a six-month insurgency by the rebels.

Officials believe it will be signed, but diplomats say it has little chance of succeeding if fighting continues.

A BBC correspondent in Skopje says events on the ground appear to be moving towards a sustained conflict, with the government's military response becoming increasingly robust in the battle for territory.

The government's military response is becoming more robust

The battle outside the capital is taking place near where eight soldiers died in a landmine explosion on Friday.

Eyewitnesses say the mainly Albanian village of Ljuboten is in flames, and a number of houses have been hit.

The main road from Skopje to Macedonia's second city Tetovo has also been closed by the authorities, and there are reports of more fighting near the northern border with Kosovo.

Nato accused

The Macedonian Government has demanded Nato action to stop what it says is infiltration by armed rebels from across the border there.

It said it had evidence that rebel incursions had led to Saturday's outbreak of fighting in the north.

Ethnic Albanian shops have been attacked

Nato said it had no evidence of incursions from the UN-administered territory, but was taking the allegations seriously.

The defence ministry said security forces in the village of Radusa came under sustained attack for several hours.

Troop reinforcements were flown in by helicopter and Sukhoi SU-25 ground attack jets also flew over the village.

Heavy machine-gun and mortar fire was also reported in Tetovo, which has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the past.

The Macedonian Government believes the latest fighting is proof that the ethnic Albanian rebels will never agree to surrender their arms to Nato as the deal demands, although it has promised to go ahead with the signing on Monday.

The ethnic Albanian rebels say they want greater rights for their community, which makes up about 30% of Macedonia's population.

But they are also making a concerted grab for land along the borders with Kosovo and Albania itself.