Rebels sign up to arms amnesty in Macedonia

Albanian rebels in Macedonia agreed last night to hand over weapons to Nato soldiers, boosting the prospects of the alliance sending more troops to the Balkans.

News of the agreement came ahead of today's meeting of Nato ambassadors in Brussels, which could authorise a new Western mission of 3,500 troops to Macedonia.

Ali Ahmeti, the political leader of the National Liberation Army, signed the pact after receiving assurances of an amnesty that will cover almost all of the rebel fighters. The breakthrough comes after the accord between Slav and Albanian political parties on Monday which laid out political reforms and granted new rights to the Albanian ethnic minority.

Under the latest deal on disarmament, Boris Trajkovski, the Macedonian President, would exempt from prosecution all NLA members except those indicted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal.

Arben Xhaferi, a prominent Albanian party leader in Macedonia, welcomed the pact. He said: "It is my understanding that a technical document [on disarmament and amnesty] was signed today which means that a peaceful implementation of the political agreement is likely to be carried out."

Some loose ends have yet to be tied up because an amnesty law has to be approved by the Slav-dominated Macedonian parliament, which has taken an increasingly tough line against the Albanian minority.

There was also concern over the durability of the ceasefire brokered between the two sides. The atmosphere remained tense yesterday after Albanians accused government troops of rampaging through their village on the outskirts of Skopje, Macedonia's capital, earlier this week, executing civilians and burning their houses. International officials who visited Ljuboten confirmed that bodies had been found.

But the agreement with the NLA gave a boost to hopes that Macedonia's slide towards civil war could be halted by a rapid Nato deployment. The alliance says it could start sending its soldiers within 48 hours of approval from the ambassadors of all 19 nations, although it will take up to two weeks for the forces to arrive.

"Operation Essential Harvest" envisages a 30-day weapons collection operation and the alliance is anxious not to get sucked into playing a wider, peace-keeping role.

But Western leaders have had to weigh their natural caution against the risk that Macedonia will be plunged into a new conflict if they lose the political momentum. That might mean a bigger Western commitment.

There were strong signs of Nato's willingness to engage quickly yesterday when a 15-strong team flew to Skopje to review conditions on the ground.

Yves Brodeur, Nato's chief spokesman, raised expectations by saying that a decision to send troops "could take place earlier than we thought".

The four conditions laid down by Nato now appear to be close to fulfilment. The agreement between Slav and Albanian political parties on Monday outlined the political basis for a settlement and was accompanied by a ceasefire. Nato also agreed a legal statute with the Macedonian government laying down the terms under which Nato soldiers would operate on Macedonian soil.

The two outstanding difficulties have been the durability of the ceasefire and the disarmament deal with the ethnic Albanians.