Macedonian army fights border rebels Special report: Kosovo Nick Wood in Debelde Tuesday February 27, 2001 The Guardian Fears of war erupting between ethnic Albanian rebels and the Macedonian army increased yesterday after sustained clashes on the frontier between Macedonia and Kosovo. For two hours gunfire, the crack of light artillery and the dull thud of grenade launchers in and around the village of Tanusevc, just inside the Macedonian border, could be heard. It is the first sustained period of fighting in the region and follows six weeks of mounting tension in which one Albanian has been killed. It was unclear what sparked the fighting but a member of the Albanian guerrilla group, who spoke to the Guardian half a mile from the village, claimed Macedonian forces fired the first shots. "If they enter the village, it will turn into a graveyard for them," he warned. "It's going to explode everywhere."
