Albanian Militants Gear Up For Spring Offensive

A group of Albanian guerrillas armed with the most advanced weaponry has negotiated secret routes from Kosovo and Metohija to Macedonia. Macedonian newspaper Nova Makedonija, citing reliable intelligence sources, identified the militants, who crossed into the country on Wednesday, as members of a paramilitary grouping named Albanian National Army. The militants are intent on thwarting the ongoing peaceful settlement in the country by renewed terror attacks, the newspaper wrote. During the winter, they may confine themselves to isolated terrorist acts, mounting a major onslaught on Macedonian security forces next spring, Nova Makedonija contended. The Albanian National Army has repeatedly challenged the framework settlement agreement and has pledged to prosecute the war to "free the territory from the state" which they hold must be dominated by Albanians. In the past, it has 13 times claimed responsibility for attacks on government troops and has repeatedly vowed to fight to unify all the Albanians in a single state in the Balkans.