NATO has collected more than 1,400 weapons from ethnic Albanian guerrillas in three days, more than one third of the planned number, thus satisfying a condition set by the Macedonian assembly to launch a debate on political reform, a NATO spokesman said Thursday.
Major Barry Johnson said that "more than 1,400 weapons have been collected" since the voluntary handover programme supervised by NATO troops, Operation Essential Harvest, began on Monday.
He added that General Gunnar Lange, the commander of Operation Task Force Harvest "has delivered a letter to the presidency informing them that more than one third of the weapons have been collected."
NATO had pledged to gather 3,300 weapons from the rebel National Liberation Army (NLA) within 30 days of its mission, which was set up under a peace deal between Macedonian and ethnic Albanian parties -- SKOPJE (AFP)
