Belgrade offers aid to Macedonian army

Macedonia has relied mainly on long-range shelling

Yugoslavia has signed an agreement pledging military support for Macedonia's efforts to crush ethnic Albanian rebels.

It is not a secret that in this crisis we need offensive and defensive weapons

Macedonian Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski

The Yugoslav Defence Minister, Slobodan Krapovic, who is on a visit to Skopje, said his country would provide intelligence as well as weapons to Macedonia's fledgling army.

His Macedonian counterpart, Vlado Buckovski, said the two countries would work together to increase security along their borders.

Until last week rebels were also fighting to "liberate" Albanian-populated villages in southern Serbia, but retreated when the Yugoslav army returned to the area, under an agreement with Nato peacekeepers.

Stalemate

The insurrection began in February, with fighting concentrated in Albanian-populated areas in the north and north-west of the country.

The army will buy weapons directly from the Yugoslav Government

A stalemate has arisen around a string of villages near borders of Serbia and Kosovo, where the Macedonian army says concern for civilian casualties has forced it to delay an all-out ground assault.

It has instead restricted itself largely to ineffective long-range shelling.

The Red Cross was given a few hours on Monday to enter the villages, where it estimates that several thousand civilians are trapped.

Nato pledge

"It is not a secret that in this crisis we need offensive and defensive weapons," Mr Buckovski said.

We will further reinforce the border region with highly mobile troops

Nato spokesman, Roy Brown

"We will seek to buy military equipment directly from the Yugoslav Defence Ministry without intermediaries."

He added: "We will work for increased security for our borders and exchange information in fighting terrorism and organised crime."

Also on Monday, Nato-led peacekeepers renewed pledges to try to stop the Macedonia rebels from receiving support from their ethnic kin in Kosovo.

"We will further reinforce the border region with highly mobile troops... and interdict logistics support," said Squadron Leader Roy Brown.

Cart bomb

In one of several overnight clashes in the north of the country the rebels loaded a bomb onto a riderless horse and cart, and sent it cantering towards government forces.

Soldiers opened fire, igniting a boiler full of explosives, just 20m or 30m from their positions, said an army spokesman.

There were also clashes near the country's second largest city, Tetovo, the unofficial capital of the ethnic Albanian community.

Western governments fear that the fighting could start a slide into civil war.

Squabbles

Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski warned on Sunday that the coalition government, which includes the country's two main ethnic Albanian parties, was not working.

He said it was consumed by squabbles about whether to use military or political means in dealing with the rebels, and said it might be necessary to hold elections as early as September.

The rebels say they are fighting for equality for the ethnic Albanian minority - up to a third of the population - but they are widely believed to want to annex parts of Macedonia to Kosovo or Albania.