Rebels agree weapons handover to troops

Nato has reached deals with the Macedonian Government and ethnic Albanians on the deployment of thousands of alliance soldiers and the disarming of rebels after six months of bloody conflict in the impoverished Balkan country.

Nato and ethnic Albanian officials said the insurgents pledged yesterday to hand in their weapons to a force of 3,500 troops that may be deployed before the end of the week, provided all weapons fall silent in coming days.

However, hopes for a permanent ceasefire were dampened by the recent killing of up to nine people. Ethnic Albanians said the victims were all civilians; the Government insisted they were rebels in disguise.

In Brussels, Nato officials said both sides in the conflict had met three key conditions for carrying out the mission, but the last - a durable ceasefire - still has to come.

Nato sent a team of experts to Macedonia yesterday to determine whether the disarmament could begin.

Nato officials said that after the political accord, a status of forces agreement was reached between Nato and the Macedonian Government, giving the weapons collection mission a legal basis.

Later in the day, the rebels officially declared how many weapons they intended to turn in. Nato was working with the Macedonian Government to get them to accept that figure, estimated at 2,000 weapons.

Later, speaking on television, Arben Xhaferi, the main ethnic Albanian leader in Macedonia, confirmed the military agreement between Nato and the rebels. He also said that Nato troops should be in Macedonia by Friday.