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EU officials killed in Macedonia

Solana
Solana: 'The EU will not be deflected in determination'  


SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Two European Union monitors and their interpreter have been killed after their vehicle hit a landmine, EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana's spokesperson has confirmed.

"Solana has expressed his deep regret and has sent his condolences to the families of the dead and the colleagues of the EU monitoring mission," Christina Gallach told CNN.

The three -- a Norwegian, a Slovakian, and an Albanian translator -- were killed on Thursday afternoon when their vehicle hit a landmine while conducting a reconnaissance mission in the northern part of Macedonia.

Solana said the EU monitors are carrying out their duties with extreme courage and dedication with the objective of peace in the region, and the EU will not be deflected in determination, Gallach said.

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Gallach told CNN: "We are treating this incident as a sad accident. We do not consider it a breach of the cease-fire."

The Macedonia Interior Ministry said the car was found near Tetovo after an "encounter" with an anti-tank land mine. The bodies of the three have not been found.

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A Macedonian army spokesman said a loud explosion was heard in the area on Thursday afternoon.

The accident comes as talks on resolving the conflict with ethnic Albanian rebels continued in Macedonia amid a fragile cease-fire between government forces and the rebels.

Two blasts have rocked Skopje amid continuing political turmoil, with the Macedonian prime minister rejecting a peace plan backed by Western powers.

Ethnic Albanian political leaders in turn refused to attend a meeting called by President Boris Trajkovski aimed at restarting talks, saying the draft plan represents all the compromises they are prepared to make.

Journalist Juliet Terzieff told CNN that at least one woman was reported to be hurt in the first blast overnight on Wednesday in a suburb populated mostly by minority Albanians.

No casualties have been reported in the second blast early on Thursday in an eastern ethnically mixed district.

Three Macedonians are also reported to have been abducted in Tetovo accused of spying against ethnic Albanians, Terzieff said.

Macedonian state television said both explosions were caused by grenades but there have so far been no claims of responsibility.

Terzieff said such incidents demonstrate the growing polarisation between the majority Macedonian and minority ethnic Albanian population, adding urgency to negotiations -- currently at a virtual standstill.

Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski has called a new draft plan completely unacceptable, saying it would lead to a de facto partition of Macedonia.

Georgievski also condemned it as "a blatant violation of Macedonia's internal affairs," the Associated Press reported.

U.S. envoy James Pardew and his EU counterpart Francois Leotard had expressed support for the draft -- which ethnic Albanian political leaders are ready to sign -- in a joint statement just hours earlier.

On national TV Wednesday night, Trajkovski said that, while disappointed that agreement had not been reached, dialogue had been constructive.

Trajkovski said the two sticking points were Albanian demands for the recognition of Albanian as an official language in Macedonia and for a voice in the composition of local police forces.

The draft plan envisages Macedonian retained as the primary official language but Albanian as a second official language in some areas and a limited vote in the appointment of local police.

Although Pardew had said there was no deadline for reaching an agreement and it was up to Macedonia's ethnic groups to find an appropriate formula, Georgievski said the draft represents "an ultimatum."

He accused the West of siding with the rebels, saying their "terrorist actions are performed with logistical support from so-called western democracies," according to AP.

Despite scattered clashes, a shaky cease-fire brokered earlier this month by NATO and the EU largely has held, but there are fears that with such an impasse fighting could resume.

Ethnic Albanian rebels have waged a five-month rebellion in the north of the country.

They say they are fighting for greater rights for the ethnic Albanian minority, but the government says they are seeking to grab land and split the state.






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