NATO authorizes troop deployment; begins peacekeeping mission in Macedonia
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NATO authorized the deployment of 3,500 allied troops to Macedonia on Aug. 22, hoping that the mission to collect and destroy rebel arms will push Macedonians and ethnic Albanians along the road to reconciliation.
An advance party of 400 soldiers has been in place since Aug. 18, following an earlier decision by the North Atlantic Council. The authorization means the main body of troops can be under way within 48 hours. The full deployment is expected to take 10 days to two weeks.
Once the entire force is in Macedonia, the clock will start ticking on NATO's self-imposed 30-day time limit for the mission.
The Macedonia mission is led by Britain, with about 1,800 troops, plus another 1,700 drawn from other NATO countries. Operation Essential Harvest will be carried out in three phases.
The first phase is the deployment. NATO has identified several locations where units will be situated, with headquarters near the Macedonian capital of Skopje. One battalion will be northwest of Skopje and others will be at Petrovec Airport, Kumanovo and Krivolak.
The second phase, weapons collection, will begin as soon as the collection sites are established. Locations probably will change frequently. Most of the weapons will be transported to a central point before being taken to Greece and destroyed.
The third phase of the operation is the withdrawal of all forces. The alliance says it has no plan to extend the mission.
マケドニアにNATO本隊派遣
北大西洋条約機構は22日、民族衝突が続くマケドニアへ,人の兵力を追加派遣することを決めた。30日間以内に、アルバニア系武装集団から兵器を回収する任務にあたる。
Shukan ST: Aug. 31, 2001
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