Macedonia hovered between war and peace Thursday after an agreement meant to end an ethnic Albanian rebellion was reached amid widespread violence. Western envoys, who had struggled to mediate a peace deal for 12 days, persuaded Macedonian and ethnic Albanian party leaders to initial the accord even as reports of heavy fighting came in from the western town of Tetovo. The fighting followed an ethnic Albanian rebel ambush that killed at least 10 soldiers -- the bloodiest single incident since the insurgency began in February-- and sparked fierce riots in the capital Skopje and the soldiers' hometown, Prilep The government warned it would strike back at the rebels and a source in the office of President Boris Trajkovski said the army chief of staff would be fired over the ambush.
Riots in Skopje continued beyond midnight with about 300 people roaming around smashing shop windows and grabbing goods in the city center.
Others had left after police used tear gas. At least 20 shops were damaged by the time the crowds dispersed at around 1 a.m. There were no reports of arrests.
Protesters also burned down a mosque and smashed up shops in Prilep in the south, where a police source said a group of around 70 men had broken into a local army barracks and stolen semi-automatic rifles. Bureau Report