Rebels from Macedonia's ethnic Albanian community have been urged by the European Union's security chief to lay down their arms and pursue their objectives by political means.
The EU's high representative on foreign and security policy, Mr Javier Solana, made the appeal yesterday during a visit to Tetovo, the north-western city which is the Albanian minority's unofficial capital.
Guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (NLA) had retreated from their outposts in the hills above Tetovo following a sustained assault by Macedonian troops and police backed up with tanks and helicopters.
Asked at a news conference if he supported the military action by the Macedonian authorities, Mr Solana said, "a country has a right to control its territory." He added, however, that this had to be done "in a manner that is proportionate". He hoped the crisis was over but said: "The battle to stabilise the Balkans goes on. We still have a lot to do."
He said he had come to Tetovo to support the Macedonian people and urge an end to violence. "An important message to the rebels is that the best thing they can do is to lay down their weapons and start a political life," he said.
Tetovo was generally calm yesterday although heavily-armed members of the security forces still maintained roadblocks at exit points from the city. Access to the mountain villages where the fighting took place was restricted and detonations could be heard in the distance.
Mr Solana is the first senior EU representative to visit Tetovo since the fighting started a fortnight ago. Whether the victory of the Macedonian forces was definitive or merely marked a temporary lull remained unclear. There was an unconfirmed report that rebels had exchanged fire with Macedonian troops near the village of Gracani. Western representatives have stressed the importance of addressing the grievances of the Albanian minority with increased urgency.
A United Nations spokesman in neighbouring Kosovo said yesterday that 17 ethnic Albanian men from Macedonia had been arrested in possession of illegal weapons and ammunition. Most of them were arrested in the mountain region of Zapluzje, just over the Macedonian border and close to Tetovo.
Mr Solana and the NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, held two hours of talks with Macedonia's President, Mr Boris Trajkovski, in Skopje on Monday night.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, Lord Robertson strongly commended the Macedonian authorities for the "firm but restrained way in which they have reacted to the provocations of the last few weeks". There was already a dialogue in the country between the different ethnic groups and this would be intensified in the future. "That is the way it should be."
He and Mr Solana had come to Skopje to deliver a "message of solidarity". Lord Robertson continued: "There are two options for the people of this country. It's a united Macedonia or another Balkans bloodbath."
Terrorism was not going to prosper and the international community stood "full-square" behind Macedonia. "We stand behind its sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its rejection of extremism."
Macedonia represented "the Balkans of the 21st century", multi-ethnic, prosperous, stable and working all the time to be a more integrated country.
"The people of this region know more than most other parts of the world that violence is a dead end and the people of this country should reject anybody who tries to lead them on a violent path." Democratic politics was the future for resolving any outstanding issues.
"There is a political opportunity now opening for all of the people in Macedonia and we say, from the bottom of our hearts, take that opportunity and build a united country. That is the only way of the future," Lord Robertson said.