Yugoslavs advance into buffer zone

The Serbian flag flies as troops enter the zone

BUJANOVAC, Yugoslavia -- Yugoslav forces have met little resistance from rebels as they moved into the final part of the Kosovo buffer zone.

The forces began "Operation Bravo" on Thursday after NATO-led peacekeepers approved a plan to hand over the final section of the zone, known as sector B.

The zone was set up after NATO's 1999 bombing campaign to stop Yugoslav oppression of ethnic Albanians. It was designed to prevent Yugoslav troops from entering Kosovo -- a southern province of Serbia.

The deployment of about 4,000 troops and special paramilitary police on Thursday was slowed by the discovery of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines and grenades left by the rebels, who had used the zone as a safe haven.

AUDIO CNN's Chris Burns: Some rebels will continue resistance 493K/45.secs. AIFF or WAV sound Journalist Steve Crawshaw: Buffer zone for new era 990K/91.secs. AIFF or WAV sound    VIDEO CNN's Chris Burns reports, the threat of violence still lingers despite disarmament agreement with rebels (May 23) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     QUICKVOTE Can Yugoslav troops pacify the Kosovo buffer zone Yes Yes but only with other forces No View Results

One army vehicle was reported by Yugoslav B-92 radio to have run over an anti-tank mine, though there were no casualties, the Reuters news agency reported.

The Yugoslav government had said it expected little resistance after the rebels agreed to disband earlier this week.

More than 300 rebels gave themselves up under an amnesty offered by the NATO-backed KFOR force in Kosovo.

A further 13 surrendered on Thursday, the Yugoslav government's media centre in Bujanovac reported.

Any rebel who fired on troops or resisted would not be offered amnesty, Serbia's deputy premier Nebojsa Covic told Reuters.

In an isolated incident, troops came under brief fire near the border village of Bali Kamen but there were no casualties, the news centre said.

Colonel Gene Kamena, deputy commander of KFOR's eastern zone who was near the scene, said they had heard some small arms fire.

Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, speaking at a former rebel base in Djordjevac, said: "It is a sign that democratic forces trust us and a sign that we can achieve more with political tools and methods than through violence."

He added: "I think normality can return after this day."

The ethnic Albanian rebels are fighting for greater rights for their community - an issue Djindjic indicated would be considered.

"We'll offer the Albanian community here a very fair opportunity to participate in the political system," he said.

NATO Secretary General George Robertson commended the restraint and commitment to a peaceful political process shown by both Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

"The successful demilitarisation and peaceful return of government security forces in southern Serbia stands as an important example to other armed groups in the region -- particularly those in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," he said in a statement released in Brussels.

Ethnic Albanian rebels are also fighting government troops in Macedonia.

The Yugoslav forces planned to move into northern and southern parts of Sector B on Thursday, then wait until next week before moving into the more populous central part, where the rebels had their headquarters and were most entrenched.

NATO and the United Nations took control of Kosovo when former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's forces left after the bombing campaign.

The buffer zone was intended to put space between peacekeepers and Yugoslav troops.

But ethnic Albanian militants seized much of the zone in November, killing several Serb policemen and soldiers.

The rebels, known as the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, wanted the primarily ethnic Albanian villages in this part of southern Serbia to throw out Serb rule.

After Vojislav Kostunica's democratic government replaced Milosevic in October, NATO agreed to the phased return of Yugoslav troops in the buffer zone.