SKOPJE (Islamweb & News Agencies) - A vanguard of British soldiers could arrive in Macedonia by the end of this week to prepare the ground for a 3,500-strong NATO force intended to help pull the country back from the brink of civil war.There was sporadic shooting in parts of the strife-torn republic overnight but a new cease-fire -- a precondition of the NATO deployment -- appeared to be broadly holding.

NATO ambassadors meeting in Brussels Wednesday approved the sending of the advance contingent of 400 troops as pioneers for a mission which will be the alliance's third in the Balkans and, it hopes, by far its briefest.

The British soldiers are to be sent to Macedonia in the next few days to set up the headquarters and communications for a larger force mandated to collect weapons from ethnic Albanian fighters, as part of a complex and fragile peace agreement.

In contrast to the lengthy NATO involvements in Bosnia and Kosovo, the alliance's role in Macedonia is envisaged as a quick in-and-out mission to be completed within weeks.

Ambassadors from the alliance's 19 member states took no decision Wednesday on deploying the full force, whose job will be to collect an estimated 3,000 weapons which are supposed to be voluntarily handed over by the Albanians.
Ambassadors will discuss deploying the full force at another meeting, possibly Friday or Monday, a NATO source said.
The government in the former Yugoslav republic gave the necessary formal go-ahead for full NATO deployment Wednesday and said it was expecting the first troops at the weekend.

Macedonia has stepped back from the brink of a new Balkan war in the past two days with the signing of a deal on extra rights for minority Albanians -- about a third of the population -- and a subsequent commitment by Albanian rebels to disarm.


SPORADIC GUNFIRE IN TETOVO

Witnesses in Tetovo, Macedonia's largest ethnic Albanian town, reported automatic weapons fire along suburban confrontation lines late Wednesday.

The shooting illustrated the fragility of the cease-fire. But no serious violations involving heavy weapons had been reported since the Albanians pledged Tuesday to disarm. Most fronts seemed calm, suggesting the cease-fire was gradually stabilizing.(Read photo caption below)

Early editions of Thursday's Macedonian newspapers gave banner coverage to NATO's decision. Vest, a pro-government daily, warned however that an Albanian splinter faction was vowing to fight on.

Having seen previous truces wither, NATO officers are cautious. In the Macedonian capital Skopje, the head of the planned alliance mission, Danish Major-General Gunnar Lange, said 15 NATO experts would be examining the solidity of the truce declared Sunday over ``the next few days.''Under the plan, NATO is to set up weapons-collection points around Macedonia where the Albanian fighters will voluntarily dump guns, bullets and mortars. NATO will then destroy the stockpiles.

Britain expects to send a total of more than 1,000 troops on ``Operation Essential Harvest.'' Contingents from France, Italy and Greece are also expected. U.S. troops are likely to play a supporting role but not to collect Albanian weapons directly.

Tuesday the political leader of the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA), Ali Ahmeti, signed a deal with NATO mediators committing the Albanians to handing over arms.

The disarmament deal followed the signing of an agreement by leaders of the main Macedonian and Albanian parties Monday to give ethnic Albanians more rights, ranging from wider use of the Albanian language to more funding for Albanian education.


PHOTO CAPTION:
A Macedonian army armored vehicle passes residents of the Macedonian village of Umin Dol August 15, 2001. Macedonia has stepped back from the brink of a new Balkan war in the past two days with the signing of a deal and a commitment by ethnic Albanian fighters to disarm. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)