Serbian villages demilitarised

Ethnic Albanian rebel commander Shefket Musliu watches as villagers remove a sand bag in Lucane

KONCULJ, Yugoslavia -- Ethnic Albanian rebels and Yugoslav security forces have agreed to demilitarise two villages in southern Serbia's Presevo Valley.

In a bid to ease tensions, both sides signed a document on Thursday agreeing to pull out of Lucane and Turija, which are on the fringes of a five-kilometre (three-mile) buffer zone around the province of Kosovo.

Shawn Sullivan, the chief NATO representative in Yugoslavia, told Reuters news agency in the village of Konculj that the demilitarisation was expected to be completed during the day.

Reuters reporters in Lucane witnessed rebels removing large sand-filled canisters used to fortify their positions, while a NATO official said both sides had begun removing sand bags.

Rebel commander Shefket Musliu expressed hope that the operation would go ahead smoothly. "We always favoured dialogue to bring peace to the people of this region," he said.

However, the Serbian government press centre in the region warned ethnic Albanians against violating the agreement. "Yugoslav security forces will no longer tolerate a single provocation or attack."

It went on to accuse the Albanians of violating all agreements signed so far and urged them to give up their weapons and equipment by May 24 and dispose of mines they had laid.

Thursday's agreement eliminates a key flashpoint between the rebels and the army ahead of the May 24 deadline, when Yugoslav Serb forces are due to move into the remaining part of the buffer zone still occupied by rebels.

The zone was established in 1999 when NATO bombing -- launched to stop former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on the ethnic Albanian population -- forced the Serb-dominated troops out of Kosovo.

It was intended to keep Serbs at a distance from Kosovo, but soon turned into a fighting area itself, with ethnic Albanian militants using it as a base for attacks on Serbs.

The Yugoslav army has now entered 80 percent of the zone.

The demilitarisation of the two villages will restore a vital communication link between the towns of Bujanovac, in southern Serbia, and Gnjilane, in Kosovo.

In a separate move, ethnic Albanian guerrillas continued to turn themselves over to NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo, with many also surrendering their weapons.

In Brussels, a NATO official said 125 fighters had surrendered on the boundary line with the Presevo Valley since Wednesday.

It coincided with the distribution of leaflets by NATO-led KFOR troops at their boundary checkpoints. They showed a photograph of a crouching rebel, asking: "Aren't you tired of this?"

Serbian officials have told the rebels they will be pardoned if they lay down their arms.

Earlier, it was reported that a joint U.S.-Russian patrol had traded gunfire with ethnic Albanian rebels.

The incident began late on Wednesday when NATO-led peacekeepers patrolling near the Kosovo village of Vela Glava found rebels guarding a building, 1st Sgt. Brian Thomas told the Associated Press news agency.

The rebels shot at the patrol, and the peacekeepers returned fire, Thomas said. One rebel was wounded and five others were detained.

The village, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) southeast of the Kosovan capital, Pristina, is located just outside the buffer zone.