21.   U.N. personnel were unable to check the reports because of the difficulty of moving about in the tense area.

22.   Vecernje Novosti, a government daily, reported that several Serbs were kidnapped in a tense area near the border with Albania.

23.   Vecernje Novosti, a government daily, reported that several Serbs were kidnapped in a tense area near the border.

24.   The rangers and police stepped up patrols in tense areas of the city.

25.   Witnesses said troops were patrolling the tense area late Tuesday.

26.   Later, people in the tense area burned old tyres on the streets and erected barricades.

27.   The Macedonian government said Tuesday it would maintain police checkpoints in several tense areas of the country despite protests by ethnic Albanian villagers and international observers.