An ethnic Albanian rebel leader on the edge of Skopje threatened today to attack the capital if government troops did not stop bombing rebel-held villages in the north by tomorrow.
Commander Hoxha, heading a guerrilla force in the Skopje suburb of Aracinovo, said he had issued an ultimatum through the media to Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski.
"I have launched an ultimatum to Georgievski. He has until tomorrow morning to stop the bombardments. They are razing the houses in the villages.
"I will start attacking police stations and the airport, the government and parliament, everything I can with our 120 mm mortars.We don't have many but they are effective. We will attack from the mountains.
"We are not very good shots but we can easily hit the airport," he said.
The rebel-held villages in the Black Mountains just north of Skopje have been pounded by army artillery for more than month in a bid to dislodge the self-styled National Liberation Army.
AFP