Macedonia swayed between an army offensive and a truce early this morning after the government declined to respond directly to a unilateral ceasefire declared by ethnic Albanian rebels.
A midnight deadline for the guerrillas to quit positions in the mountains above the city of Tetovo expired 15 minutes after President Boris Trajkovski, following talks with political leaders, said they had agreed not to comment on the truce.
The rebel National Liberation Army's declaration of a "unilateral, unlimited ceasefire" was made five hours before the ultimatum ran out. They proposed talks on a peaceful solution to the crisis, which is threatening civil war in the former Yugoslav republic.
The Macedonian Army and Interior Ministry special police force have been poised since Tuesday to launch an all-out offensive. Mr Trajkovski indicated nothing had been ruled out.
"We have agreed on the need to neutralise the terrorist threat quickly and efficiently and to condemn the use of violence to achieve political goals," he told reporters.
"We have agreed that the Army should take full control of the whole border and Kfor [NATO's Kosovo peace force] should do the same on the other side."
Government artillery, ordered into action in the beleaguered town of Tetovo for the first time on Tuesday, had bombarded rebel-held hilltops for 90 minutes after a week-long battle between special police and the NLA had reached a stalemate.
The rebels occupying positions in the area, who say they are fighting for greater rights for Macedonia's large ethnic Albanian minority, have found themselves without any outside support. World leaders have condemned their actions. Skopje has refused to talk to the rebels, who say they number 6,000 men.
Diplomatic sources in Brussels yesterday said NATO's headquarters for Europe, which oversees Kfor operations, was now asking for about 1,000 soldiers for neighbouring Kosovo. Spain was among the first to answer the call, announcing it would send 130 extra soldiers, while France was responding with reconnaissance drones.
But the US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, said Washington had no intention of adding to its 7,000-strong Kfor contingent - in line with President Bush's stated distaste for the US role in Balkan security.
Jim Cusack, Security Correspondent, adds:
Irish troops in Macedonia will continue to work as usual at the main Kfor logistics base beside Skopje Airport, the Defence Forces said yesterday.
The seven soldiers who make up the Irish Transport Unit's support elements at the Kfor base at Skopje Airport are continuing to work as usual. The troops commute between the airport and the Irish base at Lipjan in Kosovo on the main route between Skopje and Pristina. The route has been unaffected by the conflict to the west near Tetovo.