Macedonian tanks and artillery blasted ethnic Albanian guerrillas along a northern front and rebels burned buildings in occupied villages after the signing of a peace accord yesterday, Western observers said today.
The overnight violence underlined how difficult it will be to establish a durable ceasefire required by NATO to deploy 3,500 troops to collect weapons from the guerrillas as part of the agreement on minority rights for Albanians.
Government tanks and artillery bombarded the rebel-held villages of Matejce and Nikustak last night following guerrilla small-arms fire earlier in the day, a Western diplomatic observer said.
He said there much firing through the evening in the mountainous zone some 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the capital, Skopje, but that the Macedonian army's use of tanks and artillery was disproportionate.
The Macedonian state news agency MIA said guerrillas in Matejce and neighbouring hamlets fired at least 20 mortars at Umin Dol, where government tanks and artillery were dug in, early this morning.
Macedonian forces fired back but fighting stopped after an hour at the request of monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and European Union Monitoring Mission, MIA said.
There were no casualties, it said.