The parade came as Hashim Thaci, leader of the KLA, pledged that all remaining weapons would be handed over to the K-For peacekeeping force by midnight Saturday local time.

The move paves the way for the KLA to be transformed into a civilian corps, though Yugoslav authorities have attacked the demilitarisation as a "farce", saying the guerillas have only handed in vintage weapons.

The BBC's John Leyne: "Tumultuous welcome for KLA"

The parade, which began with gunshots in the air, was led by a troupe in traditional Albanian dress from Pristina university through the provincial capital's streets to the sports stadium.

Disarmament: 10,000 weapons already handed over

Two of the KLA's most senior military figures, Agim Cheku and Sulejman Selimi, headed the parade while brigades from all over the province marched behind a colour guard carrying the Albanian flag.

KLA supporters waved placards and chanted the organisation's name as the brigades, some accompanied by bands, passed by.

Other spectators waved red Albanian flags bearing the double-headed black eagle insignia.

Although UN police officers had to clear a path for the parade at points along the route, the event remained good natured.

Civilian corps

Under the agreement between the KLA and Nato-led K-For, the guerillas had 90 days to hand in all weapons as part of a phased demilitarisation.

Thaci: Pledged to convert KLA to civilian force

On Friday, K-For confirmed that the KLA disarmament was on schedule to be completed and fighters had already handed in more than 10,000 weapons.

The former rebel force is being replaced by the 5,000-strong civilian Kosovo Corps which will be charged with firefighting, humanitarian work and the rebuilding of the province.

But neither K-For or the UN's civilian administration in Kosovo has yet outlined the exact role and mandate of the corps which, it is believed, is still on the negotiating table.

Despite Mr Thaci's pledge to see disarmament completed, some members of the KLA have criticised the move saying that ethnic Albanians need to retain their own defensive capabilities to prevent future Serb aggression.

But in an interview published in Saturday's Koha Ditore newspaper in Kosovo, Lieutenant-General Mike Jackson, head of K-For, said he believed KLA leaders would "feel comfortable in a future civil force of Kosovo."

He was also quoted as saying that a few Kosovo Corps members would be permitted to carry weapons.

Thaci at UN

In his first visit to the UN in New York, Mr Thaci presented himself as the prime minister of the provisional government of Kosovo.

Mr Thaci said that Kosovo would not have a democratic future under Serbian rule and he also criticised the UN civilian administrator, Bernard Kouchner, arguing that Kosovo wanted co-operation from the UN, not a king to rule over the province.

Despite what he called "destabilising incursions" by Serb paramilitaries into Kosovo, he denied Yugoslav accusations that the KLA was hanging on to weapons.

"We do not need to stash weapons in Albania and Macedonia or bring them to Kosovo," he said.

"We are committed to respect all the agreements we have made.