Eight Macedonian soldiers were killed today when shooting broke out around a village near Macedonia's northern border with Kosovo, officials said.
"A patrol of the Macedonian army was attacked near the village of Vejce. Eight are killed and two are injured. They were fired at with machine guns and rocket launchers," Interior Ministry spokesman Stevo Pendarovski said.
This is the first shooting incident since Macedonian security forces quelled a month-long revolt by ethnic Albanian fighters, driving them out from their strongholds in the hills of northern Macedonia in late March.
It is the highest death toll in a single attack since hostilities broke out in February.
"Macedonian forces responded and the attackers withdrew. The situation is quiet now. It was anisolated incident," said Pendarovski.
The men were attacked as they were patrolling an area which was being demined by Macedonian security forces, said a defence source. Macedonian troops control Vejce village and the hilly area around it, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Tetovo, the stronghold of Macedonia's ethnic Albanians.
Macedonia is under international pressure to make concessions to ethnic Albanians, who make up to one third of the Balkan state's population.