Tetovo is Macedonia's second largest city. He said the insurgents were regrouping in the northwest after suffering a defeat in the region earlier this year. Since clashes began in northern Macedonia in February, government forces have been unable to completely dislodge or even defeat the militants who remain entrenched mostly in villages north of the capital Skopje. There are some 6,000 ethnic Albanians civilians there. A few thousand have evacuated from the north, crossing the border into Yugoslavia's neighboring Kosovo province, and about 250 moved south to the government controlled territory.
Authorities insist they want to avoid civilian casualties.
In the nearby government-held village of Matejce, about half of the original population of 6,000 have now fled. Those remaining, a mix of ethnic Albanians, Macedonians and ethnic Serbs, often stay indoors rather than face rebel snipers in the surrounding hills. President Boris Trajkovski toured army front lines Saturday, pledging to resolve the crisis caused by the insurrection. The Macedonian government initially threatened to ''eliminate'' the rebels unless they accepted a Thursday deadline to give up their armed struggle. But under intense pressure from the West, the government later promised restraint.