Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

United States Steps Up Embassy Security in Macedonia

Aired July 25, 2001 - 11:06   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We want to bring our viewers the latest on a developing and tense international story. We go across the Atlantic, across the Adriatic and to Macedonia, where the U.S. is stepping up security today at its embassy in Macedonia. An angry mob tossed stones and set vehicles afire outside of three Western diplomatic outposts. That was overnight.

Our Chris Burns has just arrived. This is his first live report from Skopje.

I understand, Chris, the situation has become very tense and very dangerous.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very tense and very dangerous, especially in Tetovo, which is about 25 miles from here. That's where the fighting had been going on very fiercely for the last couple of days, perhaps shattering the cease-fire. But what we see today is thing have been holding as a NATO representative is now talking with the rebels, the ethnic Albanian rebels, who are demanding more rights for the Albanians in the country, to pull back to the cease-fire line, the July 5 cease-fire line.

At the same time here in Skopje, there is expected the head of NATO, George Robertson, and Javier Solana, the U.N. foreign policy chief. They're both expected here tomorrow to meet with President Boris Trajkovski and other officials to try to find a way out of this crisis. A lot of officials are very, very worried about this.

One Western diplomat tells me this is a very dangerous situation that could spin out of control, as we saw last night, a lot of very angry ethnic Macedonians, driven from their homes, thousands of them around the Tetovo are and now they want their home back and the rebels, of course, are not letting them go back to this point. A very, very stand-off situation and of course we have to keep in mind the 5,000 American troops on the other side of the border over here in Kosovo who, many of them are patrolling that border to try to keep some of the men and weapons from fueling this ethnic Albanian insurgency. The more tense and the more violent it becomes down here, the most hazardous and dangerous it could become for those troops up there.

I was flying down here with some troops from Colorado, actually, and they're not looking forward to this situation. It's going to be rather tense. KAGAN: Chris, as you mentioned, there are thousands of U.S. troops there in that region. What are the chances of them getting drawn into the Macedonian situation or is the Macedonian government pretty intent on handling this on their own?

BURNS: Well, that's a big question. NATO is saying that they are willing to provide about 3,000 troops, including some Americans, that would be in sort of a buffer force, a peacekeeping force between the two forces, if there is a cease-fire and if there is an agreement that is reached for both sides to lay down their arms, or at least the rebels to lay down their arms.

On the other hand, though, if the fighting does spin out of control, not only could it affect the Americans who are patrolling on the border on the Kosovo side, but Macedonia itself is a staging point, a base point for the aid to Kosovo. And if things rattle out of control here, that could make things much more difficult for the peacekeeping force, for KFOR, for American troops inside Kosovo and if the American troops have to patrol more aggressively along that border, it could create a more adversary and hazardous situation with the ethnic Albanians inside Kosovo -- Daryn?

KAGAN: Chris Burns with our first live report from Skopje, Macedonia. Thank you. We look forward to additional information coming out of there. Chris, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com