SKOPJE, Nov 14: Macedonian police forces on Wednesday were ordered to pull out of ethnic Albanian villages where they had been sent on the weekend, angering residents and re-igniting fighting that left three policemen dead.

Plans to excavate the site of a mass grave alleged to contain the bodies of Macedonians killed by ethnic Albanian rebels have also been suspended, said Interior Ministry spokesman Goran Mitevski following a meeting with NATO officials.

The arrival of the extra Macedonian forces angered ethnic Albanian villagers many of whom took up arms saying they would defend themselves against any police advance.

The decision to send them into the region — the scene of fierce fighting earlier in the year — was made on Sunday by Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski who said he was determined to regain control of the whole country.

Mitevski said part of the police forces had pulled out Wednesday morning from the region near the flashpoint town of Tetovo.

Armed men were still reported to be on the streets on Wednesday in the villages of Trebos and Seresino but fewer than on previous days. Macedonian armoured vehicles, which had been present on Tuesday, had also left, said an AFP reporter at the scene.

But according to Memet Jonuzi, an ethnic Albanian official in another northwest village, Semsovo, the reduction in tension was due to the increased presence of NATO forces.

“This presence meant any major incident was avoided and it’s that which dissuaded police from entering the villages,” he said.

NATO troops are deployed in Macedonia under operation “Amber Fox” to provide additional protection for international monitors checking that an internationally brokered peace agreement signed in August is being respected by both sides.

Mitevski on Wednesday repeated the official explanation that the deployment of the police had been to make preparations for the excavation of the suspected mass grave.

According to the authorities, the site is thought to contain the bodies of 12 Macedonians killed by members of the now ethnic Albanian rebel National Liberation Army (NLA).

In The Hague, officials announced that chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte will travel to Skopje on Tuesday.—AFP