The disarming of ethnic Albanian guerrillas, no less essential to peace, will not be easy.

If ethnic Albanian guerrillas score some victories, they may hope to persuade supporters that independence can be won without a peace deal.

The ethnic Albanian guerrillas have killed Serbian police and taken soldiers hostage.

More than 900 people have been reported killed in the fighting this year, most of them ethnic Albanian guerrillas and civilians.

The talks collapsed almost two weeks ago, when the government mounted an offensive to remove the Albanian guerrillas from a village near here.

Their job will be to collect weapons handed over voluntarily by the ethnic Albanian guerrillas who have been fighting the government for six months.

In the peace agreement, 3,000 ethnic Albanian guerrillas laid down their weapons, and several are now members of the government.

Meanwhile the ethnic Albanian guerrillas rearmed and peace negotiations went nowhere.

The Albanian guerrillas want independence, a goal that Western countries do not support.

Former ethnic Albanian guerrillas are now members of a coalition government with a center left Macedonian party.