Kosovo's UN administrator Mr Hans Haekkerup asked Macedonia today to reopen its border with the UN-run Yugoslav province, saying that other measures were needed to ensure frontier security.
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Reiterating the international community's "support for Macedonian government efforts to stop extremists," Mr Haekkerup said "it is also very important to address the problem politically, so the extremists will have no chance to win."
Macedonian forces have been battling ethnic Albanian rebels for more than a month in the north of the country, and closed the border several weeks ago to prevent guerrillas crossing from Kosovo.
Mr Haekkerup noted that the Macedonian decision to close the border with Kosovo, ordered by Skopje in a bid to prevent infiltration by the rebels to Macedonia, had had "negative effects."
UN officials have said the border closure has threatened fuel supplies to emergency services, driven up prices in the impoverished province, and caused shortages of oxygen and other essentials in hospitals.
"I think it is very important that (NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo) KFOR is trying to stop infiltrators from Kosovo and to seal off the border," he said.
Mr Haekkerup said "in Kosovo, we are receiving refugees but also extremists are crossing the border."
"I am considering issuing some regulations on crossing the border outside the borderpoints," he said.
AFP