AS up to 15 more people were killed in shooting incidents in Albania yesterday, rebel held towns in the south edged towards the midnight deadline for the resignation of President Sali Berisha without any clear plan of action.
Rebel leaders met opposition political leaders in the southern stronghold of Gjirokaster but had little to add to their demand that Mr Berisha resign, "or else".
One rebel commander, Mr Gjolek Malaj, said 50 men were on their way to Tirana to put the president under house arrest but other leaders rejected this claim.
The deaths took place at Puka in the north, Korca and Fieri in the south, and in Tirana, bringing to more than 121 the number of deaths since the unrest began. Four children, two of them killed accidentally while playing with firearms, were among yesterday's dead. Others were shot during clashes between gangs.
Tirana's Rinas airport reopened partially yesterday, having been closed for a week. An Albanian Airlines flight evacuated some 30 people, mostly foreign journalists and their families, to Bulgaria.
The Albanian Prime Minister, Mr Bashkim Fino, will meet EU Foreign Ministers in Rome on Tuesday. Law and order experts are to be sent to Tirana following an evaluation of the advisory group sent by the EU.
The Italian Defence Minister, Mr Beniamino Andreatta, yesterday declared that no unilateral military action by Italy in Albania was foreseen.
Italian television reported yesterday that Italian marines are already at the port of Durres to provide security for planned aid deliveries. The marines yesterday took part in an operation to disembark some 400 refugees rescued by Italian naval ships when their fishing boat ran into trouble on rough seas.
Italy yesterday expelled a group of 50 boat people judged a security risk, flying them to Tirana. Mr Andreatta told the Italian senate defence committee that the authorities were preparing to expel about 100 "undesirables" in all.