BRUSSELS, Belgium (Islamweb & Mews Agencies) - NATO authorized deployment of 3,500 troops to Macedonia on Wednesday and could begin collecting weapons from ethnic Albanian fighters early next week in its latest foray trying to bring stability in the Balkans.Troops started moving almost immediately, with the first French soldiers of the main force arriving in the capital Skopje on Wednesday afternoon, joining the 400 communications and headquarters personnel already on the ground.(Read photo caption below)
NATO officials said complete deployment probably would take 10 days to two weeks, but the job of collecting Albanian fighters' arms and transporting them to a central location for destruction could begin well before all the troops had arrived.
``The commander is confident that he can start the weapons collection sometime at the beginning of next week,'' said NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson.
The clock on NATO's self-imposed 30-day time limit for the mission starts ticking once the entire force in Macedonia. Several hundred Americans will participate - mostly taken from troops already in Kosovo and Macedonia - in a behind-the-scenes role focusing on logistical duties.
NATO approved the deployment - its third Balkans venture in the past six years - despite violence that has simmered even after Macedonian and ethnic Albanian leaders signed a peace deal Aug. 13 to end six months of fighting.
The NATO intervention is seen as essential for shoring up the political deal, which spells out constitutional changes to give Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority greater rights. Those changes will only be ratified once the fighters disarm.
The Macedonian government, which had asked for NATO's help, welcomed the decision by the North Atlantic Alliance to launch Operation Essential Harvest.
An ethnic Albanian fighters spokesman known as Besniku also cautiously welcomed the decision, ``provided that NATO will be evenhanded with both sides.''
PHOTO CAPTION:
A new 'Special Scout Troop' police unit is seen on a road in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 22, 2001. NATO launched its third Balkans operation in a decade after its 19 member states approved a plan to send thousands of troops to collect weapons from ethnic Albanian fighters in Macedonia. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)