Fighting thrusts Macedonia back to the verge of civil war

Western diplomats are struggling to salvage peace talks as ethnic Albanian rebels battled Government security forces in the worst fighting in months.

It revived fears of full-scale civil war in the troubled Balkan nation.

Fighting raged just outside the centre of Tetovo, Macedonia's second-largest city, where a police official said the militants seized control of the football stadium and were just a few yards from government positions.

Government spokesman Antonio Milososki said an 11-year-old girl was killed and six security force members were wounded.

Macedonian television said at least 25 others were wounded, and Colonel Blagoja Markovski said 22 Macedonian civilians were abducted by ethnic Albanian insurgents in villages around Tetovo.

The fighting, which eased at nightfall, was by far the most serious violation of a ceasefire brokered by Nato and the European Union that took effect on July 5.

The militants launched their insurgency against Government forces in February, saying they were fighting for greater rights and recognition for minority ethnic Albanians, who account for up to a third of Macedonia's population of 2 million.

Some of the worst fighting raged in and around Tetovo in February and March.

The Government contends that ethnic Albanians already enjoy enough protection under the constitution. It considers the rebels "terrorists" and accuses them of trying to carve up the country.

"The situation in Tetovo is critical, and if the terrorists do not retreat to their previous positions ... we will have no other option but to dislodge them with our offensive. We can not pull back when the security of people in Tetovo is endangered," Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski told reporters.