COLLECTION OF ARMS FROM ALBANIAN REBELS PROCEEDS AS PLANNED

SKOPJE, Sept 23 (Hina) - The operation of collection of arms from Albanian rebels is proceeding as planned, said a spokesman for NATO at a news briefing in the Macedonian capital of Skopje on Sunday. According to NATO's assessment, the situation in Macedonia is calming down, although there are sporadic cases of breaches of cease-fire, and there are conditions for the achievement of permanent peace, spokesman Mark Leighty told reporters. Thus, the weapons collection action called "the Essential Harvest" will be completed within the planned time term, i.e. by 26 September, he added. The Macedonian Interior Ministry on Sunday reported that a member of police reserve units had been abducted in Tetovo a day before. According to the state-run radio, Albanian extremists continued to violate the cease-fire in the crisis areas such as Tetovo. In the night between Saturday and Sunday an explosion rocked the old centre of Skopje, The blast was caused by the explosion of a bomb planted in a exchange office, run by a local Albanian. There were no injuries but the exchange office and neighbouring shops and cars were damaged in the blast. An investigation is under way. A spokesman for the interior ministry, Vasko Sutarov, has said that there are grounds for the suspicion that the incident was the result of the score-settling among business people of the Albanian descent and the warning that they should pay some money to the liberation army of Macedonian Albanians. (hina) ms