Skopje - Macedonian forces are poised to resume an offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels in north-eastern mountains today and the Skopje parliament has called an extraordinary session to discuss the worsening crisis.
Yesterday, Macedonian helicopter gunships and artillery attacked an area where ethnic Albanian rebels had ambushed an army patrol, killing two soldiers.
Two heavily-armed, Soviet-built Mi-24 helicopters circled over the village of Vakcince, north-east of the capital, firing rockets at houses and a nearby forest.
