[Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, August 06, 2001 10:44 AM Subject: FYROM: 3,000 British Troops To Spearhead NATO Occupation Force [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- 3,000 British Troops May be Sent to Macedonia LONDON, Aug 6, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Up to 3,000 British troops could be sent to Macedonia on peacekeeping duties if a peace deal is reached between Macedonian and ethnic Albanian political leaders, the Ministry of Defense said Sunday. An MoD spokeswoman told AFP the British soldiers could be sent "imminently" to Macedonia, where ethnic Albanians have been clashing with government forces for six months. The spokeswoman was responding to a report in the Observer newspaper that UK troops were expected in the Balkan country by the end of this week as part of a NATO-led force including contingents from France, Greece and Italy. Their role would be overseeing disarmament by both sides, but particularly by ethnic Albanians in the north of the country, the MoD spokeswoman added. Macedonian and ethnic Albanian political leaders entered a critical stage Saturday on their seventh day of peace talks, seeking to overcome the last hurdles blocking a deal aimed at heading off a new Balkan war. A source close to the Macedonian presidency said the talks -- focused on the issue of local police -- were reaching a "crucial phase", either to soon reach an overall accord or to reach an impasse. "We are waiting for a lasting peace agreement between the Macedonians and the Albanians," the MoD spokeswoman said. "Geoff Hoon (the British defense minister) is on record as saying that 3,000 troops could be sent in total from the UK." A final decision on the number to be sent in would only be made once a peace deal was in place, she said, but added: "We are are pretty well committed to send them in." She could not confirm how long the troops would be in Macedonia or how many NATO troops in total would be involved. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWC Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
