The Macedonian Government has announced a nationwide ceasefire with ethnic Albanian rebels.

Army forces are continuing their offensive in Macedonia as the president prepares to discuss his peace offer with leading politicians in the government coalition.

Macedonian security forces have pushed towards two ethnic Albanian rebel strongholds, setting several houses on fire and touching off explosions that rocked the hills along the rugged border with Kosovo.

Soldiers have again hammered ethnic Albanian rebel positions with artillery fire in an offensive that deepened fears among Macedonians that the country is on the verge of civil war.