Macedonian policeman shot dead

Nato wants to be sure the ceasefire will last

A Macedonian policeman has been shot dead in the town of Tetovo, a day before 400 Nato troops are due to arrive in the country to help implement a peace accord.

Residents of Tetovo, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the six-month ethnic Albanian uprising, said gunfire continued for some time.

It's different from what happened in Bosnia. This is not a peacekeeping operation

Nato spokesman Yves Brodeur

Nato has made it clear it will only deploy a full force of some 3,500 soldiers to oversee rebel disarmament if conditions on the ground are favourable.

Before the shooting of the policeman, who has not been named, a Nato spokesman had said that the ceasefire seemed generally to be holding despite sporadic fighting.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Skopje said it is not clear if the shooting was carried out by the main ethnic Albanian rebel group the NLA, or by a splinter group that does not feel bound by the ceasefire.

Advance troops

An advance force of 400 British troops is scheduled to arrive in Macedonia on Friday to prepare for possible full Nato deployment.

A durable and sustainable ceasefire is a key condition before Nato will send soldiers to collect rebel weapons.

The alliance has made clear that it intends for its soldiers to be in Macedonia for only 30 days and that it is determined to avoid mission creep.

The advance force will establish a base in Skopje in preparation for the main force.

Peace accord's key points

Amends constitution to include all ethnic groups, not only Macedonians

Makes Albanian second official language in some areas

More ethnic Albanians in police and other institutions

Allows degree of self-rule in Albanian-dominated areas

Census to be held to establish country's exact ethnic mix ahead of elections

The rebels are due to collect their own weapons and deposit them at pre-arranged collection sites.

Nato troops will then move in, seal the area, pick up the guns for destruction in a third country and leave.

Nato spokesman Yves Brodeur insisted that the mission to gather arms from ethnic Albanian rebels would last 30 days.

In a BBC interview, he rejected suggestions that Nato troops could get sucked into the Macedonian situation and be there far longer than expected, as happened in Bosnia.

"It's different from what happened in Bosnia. This is not a peacekeeping operation," Mr Brodeur said, stressing that whether the rebels do hand over weapons or not, Nato troops will leave after a month.

"We're not going there to separate fighters... we will be out in 30 days," he said.

Concerns

Some Nato members, including the United States, are extremely concerned about the risks of deploying a large force, even with a carefully limited mandate and for a strictly defined period.

Our correspondent says the number of weapons involved is also bound to be the source of bitter debate.

The rebels say they have about 2,500 guns, but the Macedonians believe the number is far higher.

The rebel leadership has said it will surrender all its weapons, but our correspondent says the suspicion persists in Macedonia that many guns will be buried in the mountains in case they are needed in the future.

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British troops are due to arrive on Friday