Ethnic Albanian rebels appeared in a village just 10 kilometres east of the capital Skopje today, following an exodus of thousands of residents from the area in recent days.
A group of guerrillas were seen driving around Aracinovo in a car with an AK47 assault rifle pointing out of the window. They wore the red insignia of the National Liberation Army (NLA) on their shirts.
Residents said that the NLA guerrillas were becoming more assertive despite the continued presence of plain-clothes Macedonian police. Skopje says Aracinovo is firmly under government control.
Thousands of people have fled Aracinovo in recent days, fearing that fighting in nearby villages northeast of Skopje will move nearer the capital. In Aracinovo, the sound of artillery fire could be heard in the distance.
Almost all of the people in the main village square today were men. The NLA says it is fighting for greater rights for Albanians in Macedonia, accusing the majority Slavs of discrimination.