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CNN Live At Daybreak

Turmoil in Macedonia

Aired July 25, 2001 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The fuse is burning, and once again the powder keg is in the Balkans -- this time, Macedonia.

Angry crowds showered rocks on the U.S., British and German embassies in Skopje. The U.S. Embassy is closed today, and a travel warning is out for all Americans in Macedonia. A U.S. Army quick reaction force stationed at the airport in Skopje is on full alert.

The demonstration erupts during intensive battles between Macedonian troops and ethnic Albanian rebels, as Juliette Terzieff reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIETTE TERZIEFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Angry mobs set fire to vehicles, chanted anti-West slogans and marched through the capital. From the Germans to the British and finally American embassies, the crowds hurled stones, tried to break down the doors.

Their rage erupted after government officials called Western governments great friends to ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the country's north, the same forces that have seized control of a dozen villages, forced hundreds of Macedonians to flee.

For the third straight day, the guerrillas battled Macedonian army and police in and around the city of Tetovo. Using tanks, mortars and machine guns, Macedonian forces tried to fend off a rebel advance into the city itself. As night fell, Tetovo streets filled with gunfire.

Diplomats in the Macedonian capital say they still hope to restart political negotiations to solve the crisis, but they admit the growing violence is pushing this Balkan nation to the very brink of a civil war.

Juliette Terzieff for CNN, Tetovo, Macedonia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And right now, we have Juliette on the telephone right now from Tetovo, Macedonia.

Juliette, what can you see right now? What is the situation there? TERZIEFF: Yes, good morning, Carol.

At the moment, the streets of Tetovo are all but deserted. Earlier this morning, we saw civilians running to the few stores that were open, stocking up on things like oil, sugar and flour. There was a lot of police and army movement in this city this morning as they tried to recover from last night's battles.

There was over seven hours of fighting here in the city last night. And this morning when the citizens of Tetovo woke up, they saw that many of the police checkpoints had been damaged, some of them abandoned, and that Macedonian security forces were spending their morning trying to regain control of the city.

We have also seen dozens of carloads of people, mostly women and children, packed up with their belongings heading out of the city -- Carol.

LIN: Juliette, President Bush was just in Kosovo addressing the U.S. troops there. Many American peacekeepers have been used along the border with Macedonia to try to prevent this very kind of insurgency.

So where is the American or Western presence in all of this?

TERZIEFF: Yes, that's exactly correct.

Yesterday, President Bush was in Kosovo. And while addressing American soldiers at Camp Bondsteel, he urged all sides of Macedonia to observe the cease-fire. But the perception by Macedonian politicians over the last week has grown increasingly sour towards the West, especially towards American and European diplomats working in the capital to try and solve this crisis.

American peacekeeping troops in Kosovo has stepped up their efforts in the last three months seizing huge amounts of weapons, detaining hundreds of people suspected of being guerrillas, and trying to cut off the flow of arms into Macedonia. But what -- Macedonian politicians are saying that that is not enough. And, in fact, the government spokesman yesterday, Antonio Milososki, accused the NATO of being great friends of the ethnic Albanian rebels and being far too lenient on them putting the position of Western peacekeepers and diplomats and internationals here in Macedonia in jeopardy -- Carol.

LIN: So, Juliette, then what is the situation? I mean, if the Macedonian forces -- security forces are saying that NATO is not doing enough to secure the situation, they have said at least from our wires this morning Macedonian security forces are saying they have no choice but to secure the situation. Do they mean all-out war?

TERZIEFF: Well, that's the question.

We had a couple of hours ago announcements coming out of the Interior and Defense Ministries issuing a warning to the ethnic Albanian rebels that if they did not withdraw, that all future mediation efforts by American and European envoys would be disregarded, and that the Macedonian security forces would take it into their own hands to get the rebels out of the city of Tetovo and the villages in this area.

The rebels have seized upwards of six villages in the last four days, forcing thousands of people to flee. And there are still tens of thousands of civilians in the area who are trapped in the combat zone -- Carol.

LIN: All right, Juliette Terzieff, a very intense situation in Tetovo, Macedonia.

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