Troops gather ahead of Nato weapons mission

Nato soldiers streamed into Macedonia today ahead of a key visit by a senior alliance general who will help determine whether the country is stable enough to start an effort to collect rebel weapons.

Dozens of troops poured into the capital, Skopje, on Saturday - the first part of a British-led mission known as Operation Essential Harvest.

So far, 226 soldiers from Britain, Canada, Greece and the Czech Republic have arrived in the capital, Nato spokesman Barry Johnson said. By the end of the day, 400 soldiers in all are expected to arrive.

The troops are the vanguard of a force that will evaluate whether a tenuous ceasefire is viable.

If the advance team determines that both sides are adhering to a ceasefire, Nato’s ruling council could agree to deploy the full 3,500-strong force.

Sporadic incidents occurred near the country’s second-largest city, Tetovo, but there were no casualties, Macedonia state radio reported.

The alliance’s supreme allied commander in Europe, General Joseph Ralston, travels to Macedonia tomorrow to take part in the security assessment - a move seen as critical to determining whether the mission should proceed.

Senior leaders on the ground, meanwhile, drew up plans for the early phase of the mission.

‘‘From Monday, we will be deploying liaison teams to all the relevant parties,’’ said Brigadier Barney White-Spunner, who will command the multi-national brigade.

He said he would advise that the mission move ahead, ‘‘when, and only when, the conditions on the ground are acceptable’’.

Brig White-Spunner said he would speak to the Macedonian government and the leadership of the rebels, known as the National Liberation Army.

Nato’s mission is a key aspect of the peace accord signed by both ethnic Albanian and Macedonian political leaders. A key condition of the deployment is a lasting ceasefire.

‘‘If either side fails to cooperate, then there is no role for this task force here in Macedonia,’’ the Brigadier said. ‘‘To this end, the ceasefire must be genuine before the force will deploy.’’

There have been other troubles: Macedonian authorities shut the main border crossing between Kosovo and Macedonia on Saturday, said Simon Haselock, a spokesman for the UN mission in Kosovo. No official reason was given for the closure, but Macedonian police sources said it was prompted by insurgents being spotted near the crossing.

Civilians blockaded the main road to the border in the town of Stenkovac for a second day today, preventing Nato-led peacekeepers from travelling back and forth to Kosovo. The support base for peacekeepers in Kosovo is located in Macedonia.

Nato officials have been at pains to stress that they will only gather weapons voluntarily turned in by ethnic Albanian rebels, and will not forcibly disarm them nor provide security for the civilian population.

Concerns have also arisen that dissatisfaction with the peace deal among ethnic Albanian rebels may be causing some to form splinter groups comprised of die-hard militants determined to keep fighting.

Earlier this month, a group calling itself the Albanian National Army claimed responsibility for an ambush that killed 10 Macedonian army soldiers near Tetovo. In a statement faxed to ethnic Albanian media, the group rejected the peace deal and called for war.

But no member of the ANA has ever been sighted and there is doubt the group exists. Officially, Nato denies that the group could cause problems for the weapons collection operation.