Today, for the third day, police forces fired for several hours at ethnic Albanian rebels taking cover in the hills above the city.

Just 5 of the 21 special forces teams have the 12.7-millimeter sniper rifle, the type that the Albanian rebels are using.

The Government sent in soldiers and police units beginning last spring to put down ethnic Albanian rebels.

Tanks rolled through town, heading for the hills where the ethnic Albanian rebels were sheltered.

But Albanian rebels denied that they had fired the shells, as did the government.

After the violent 2001 uprising, ethnic Albanian rebels agreed to lay down their arms in return for greater rights.

"There are no terrorists here," said the officer, referring to the ethnic Albanian rebels.

He criticized the Albanian rebels and said he absolutely did not support their use of force.

Yugoslav forces were mobilized into province to quell Albanian rebels.

So did the ethnic Albanian rebels they were fighting.