NATO troops in Macedonia prepared yesterday to determine if a peace settlement was stable enough to dispatch a bigger force to gather weapons from Albanian guerrillas, whose leader declared their rebellion over.
The reclusive political chief of the rebel National Liberation Army (NLA) made a declaration of his commitment to peace, which will be tested if NATO elects to deploy its 3,500-strong force.
NATO fears being trapped between the front lines it aims to demilitarise. It insists it will not be sucked into an open-ended peacekeeping operation.
Mr Ali Ahmeti said the NLA would pose NATO no problems, vowing to implement his side of the peace bargain. "We believe the war is over," he proclaimed.
Less encouraging for NATO, was a small anti-western protest by angry members of the Macedonian majority.
The demonstrators, who blame NATO for failing to stop guns and guerrillas flooding into Macedonia, have barricaded the main supply route into the Yugoslav province where 40,000 NATO troops are stationed as peacekeepers. "NATO - New Albanian Terrorist Organisation," read one banner near the makeshift roadblock of cars and piles of earth.
NATO's supreme commander in Europe, Gen Joseph Ralston, is due in Skopje on Monday to assess the situation.
Combat zones throughout Macedonia's northern hills, where the NLA has seized swathes of territory, were generally quiet yesterday, but the state news agency MIA reported sporadic "provocations by the Albanian terrorists" overnight.
Serious doubts remain as to whether NATO can succeed in disarming the NLA let alone stabilise Macedonia, despite the peace deal agreed this month.
Many Macedonians remain convinced the NLA's real agenda is not human rights but to carve up their tiny country. They believe the guerrillas will provoke fresh fighting once NATO arrives and force it to police existing lines.
One NLA gunman said he hoped NATO would stay for longer than 30 days. He said Macedonian forces had to be prevented from rushing to reoccupy rebel-held territory.
"Who is going to secure my safety when NATO leaves after such a short time and with my gun?" he said.