Ethnic Albanian rebels in northern Macedonia declared a unilateral ceasefire this evening, saying they were open to dialogue with Macedonian forces preparing an assault on their positions.
"Today we are declaring a ceasefire, but if one of our positions is threatened by the other side, all our forces will mobilise and the consequences will be even more serious," Mr Ali Ahmeti, presented as the political leader of the self-styled "National Liberation Army", told RTK television in Kosovo.
Reaffirming their determination not to cede to the Macedonian troops and police seeking to dislodge them from hills above the town of Tetovo, the "National Liberation Army" leader, Commander Hoxha,, said earlier: "The ball is in Macedonia's court."
Mr Hoxha said the rebels were "in favour of dialogue and were are respecting the "ceasefire" decreed by the Macedonian government.
But he warned his men would "never" give in to the Macedonian ultimatum to give themselves up by the midnight deadline or face renewed shelling on their positions.
In the Macedonian capital Skopje two policemen were shot and wounded today, a police source said.
One of the policemen suffered a serious injury and was taken to a hospital.
AFP