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Article: Macedonian troops launch attack on Albanian rebels.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- March 25, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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TETOVO, Macedonia -- Government troops on Sunday launched a long-awaited ground attack on ethnic Albanian rebels bunkered in the hills above Tetovo, and after 12 hours of sustained, close-range fighting, claimed control of five villages. By nightfall Macedonian soldiers held positions surrounding an Ottoman-era fortress used as a key rebel base.
The offensive marks the first test of whether the small Macedonian armed force is up to the job of combating an insurgency that threatens to plunge the ethnically divided nation into civil war.
Backed by helicopter gun ships, tanks and artillery, the soldiers encountered stiff resistance from rebel snipers and ...