Macedonians struggle to salvage deal

Some 2,000 villagers are caught up in the fighting

Prospects for a government of national unity in Macedonia remained in the balance on Thursday, as demands by an ethnic Albanian party for an army ceasefire went unheeded.

Government forces continued to shell rebel positions on Wednesday, despite the insistence from the Party of Democratic Prosperity (PDP) that the action be suspended.

Any government formed... without the participation of the NLA will only let more blood get spilled

Rebel Commander Sokoli

The ceasefire row has proved the main stumbling block to a final deal on a unity government, which had seemed close to being clinched earlier in the week.

More talks were being held on Thursday in an attempt to get the coalition off the ground.

But national security adviser Nikola Dimitrov said the PDP's demands would not be met.

"If the PDP's ceasefire condition envisages a stop in defending the country, it would be unacceptable," he said.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman insisted that the military operation would continue until the rebels were finally eliminated.

Civilians stranded

The villages of Slupcane and nearby Vakcince have been coming under heavy bombardment from Macedonian troops and tanks supported by helicopters.

Macedonian forces have continued to shell rebel strongholds

The continued unrest in the area has left some 2,000 civilians marooned in the hills north of Kumanovo, toward the Kosovo border.

The army had called on the villagers to evacuate early on Wednesday morning, but few responded.

The Macedonian forces have accused the rebels of using the civilians as human shields.

'No surrender'

But rebel leader Commander Sokoli dismissed the claims.

"There are 30,000 civilians in this area. How could we possibly keep them hostage against their will?" he asked.

The rebels pledged to fight on and insisted that they also must be allowed a role in negotiations to end the crisis.

"The government has to face reality," said Commander Sokoli. "It has to face us."

About 7,000 villagers - mostly ethnic Albanian women, children and old men - have fled the area in the past few days and correspondents say hundreds of families are spending their nights in cellars.

Macedonia's plans for a "grand coalition" briefly appeared to have been agreed on Tuesday, but it emerged that the PDP had agreed to join only if the ceasefire came into effect.

Albanian demands

The PDP wants a total halt to shelling, a withdrawal of all combatants, and a phased return of police under foreign monitoring.

The remaining parties are struggling to keep alive the prospects for a government of national unity.

The spokesman for the largest Macedonian Slav party, the VMRO, acknowledged that the coalition's formation would have to be postponed at least until next week.