| Bulgarian ambassador says Macedonia wary because of Kosovo unrest
UPDATE 1: Yordanov says authorities in Skopje see a security threat in Kosovo hostilities
SOFIA (bnn)— Macedonian authorities are concerned that unrest in the UN-run Serb province of Kosovo may spill over to their country, a Bulgarian official said Monday.
"The situation in Macedonia is calm, the authorities refrain from making judgements, but they acknowledge that the situation in (neighboring) Kosovo is critical and there is a threat for Macedonia's security," Bulgarian Ambassador in Skopje Alexander Yordanov told the private Nova TV.
Macedonian Minister of Defense Vlado Buckovski has denied allegations that Albanian militants from Macedonia are sneaking to Kosovo and re-igniting ethnic animosities there, Yordanov said.
More than 40 ethnic Serbs were killed last week as members of Kosovo's Albanian majority went on the rampage in Serb minority enclaves setting houses on fire and attacking there owners.
Some 9,000 Serbs have fled the violence, which international peace forces have failed to prevent.
Macedonia itself was shaken by an ethnic Albanian uprising in 2001, which ended with a peace accord that would give the Albanian minority more rights but prevent it from breaking away parts from the former Yugoslav republic. /bnn/
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