Macedonian President Mr Boris Trajkovski yesterday defended a controversial NATO-backed plan that transported hundreds of armed ethnic Albanian guerrillas from a Skopje suburb, saying it had removed a direct threat to the capital.
He warned that the reaction of an armed mob that fired into the air outside the parliament and destroyed his office late on Monday after the rebel withdrawal was orchestrated by "internal" agitators who could tip the country into civil war.
"It was a success," Mr Trajkovski said on national television, adding that the pullout had fulfilled its aim of removing hundreds of heavily armed "terrorists" from the very edge of Skopje.
The ethnic Albanian rebels have been waging a tenacious armed struggle against Macedonian forces for five months with the aim of winning more rights for Albanians. That US troops from the Kosovo peacekeeping force transported the guerrillas with their arms back to safer terrain in the Black Mountains above Skopje enraged Macedonian Slavs. Thousands protested outside the parliament, letting off bursts of automatic rifle fire.
Many Slavs already see the West as pro-Albanian for backing the Kosovo Liberation Army two years ago in its battle against Belgrade. "It was the quickest and most efficient way to avoid casualties," insisted Mr Trajkovski, whose forces lost four dead and around 30 injured in three days of heavy fighting that failed to dislodge the rebels.
But for the mob of at least 6,000 furious Slavs who gathered outside the parliament building - which is also the president's official residence - the move was seen as a betrayal, and they called on Mr Trajkovski to resign.
The Macedonian president said the protests appeared to have been orchestrated by "internal currents" at all level of state. He said elements had been alarmed that his peace plan to slowly disarm and amnesty rebels was working and accused them of wanting to provoke a "civil crisis".
The White House approved the use of US troops to escort ethnic Albanian rebels with their weapons from Skopje, US officials said yesterday.