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PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, Sept 18 (AFP) - More than 50,000 Kosovar Albanians turned out Saturday for a "victory parade" by the Kosovo Liberation Army, one day ahead of a deadline for the KLA to disband.
Despite the festivities, questions remained as to whether all KLA members would comply with the deadline for full demilitarization at midnight (2200 GMT) on Sunday.
Red Albanian flags with black two-headed eagles flew in the streets, clogged with people on foot, on horseback, in carts or in motor vehicles heading for the provincial capital.
UN police said at least 50,000 people had gathered by 2:00 p.m., and that a total of 200,000 were expected.
Security forces were out in strength, with UN police and Kosovo force (KFOR) peacekeepers in position along the city's streets and on rooftops to try to prevent violence.
It was KLA members' last chance to march in uniform before their organization ceases to exist as part of the undertaking for disarmament they signed on June 21.
The parade was to march two kilometers (one mile) along the main avenue to the city's sports stadium where ethnic-Albanian musicians and singers would perform patriotic songs.
KFOR would not block the parade, spokesman Roland Lavoie said Friday.
KFOR was "satisfied" with the KLA's disarmament, but "we would be the last to say there are no more weapons in Kosovo," he added.
On Thursday, KLA military chief Agim Ceku said the organisation had surrendered 10,000 weapons -- all the arms and munitions in its possession.
They were turned over to KFOR in three stages.
While Ceku maintained his commanders would fall in line, some top regional officers continued to express defiance.
"If KFOR protects the Serbs, we will fire into the crowd. We will make war on everyone if we have to," one KLA leader said.
"How will KFOR know if I have disarmed or not? Besides, the weapons we have are our own personal possessions," he added.
The undertaking allows civilians to possess traditional, non-automatic weapons for hunting, but they must be registered with KFOR.
Disbanded KLA members are now expected to be given a leading role in the civilian Kosovo Corps, which will be allowed to carry handguns.
The corps, being developed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), will consist of 5,000 people, including 2,000 reservists.
Other former KLA members are to be enrolled in the 3,000-member civilian police force which began training September 7 under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The successful candidates were chosen according to their understanding of democratic and humane policing concepts, and their ability to be fair and impartial when dealing with police situations.
Half of the recruits have a university education, and 20 percent are women, according to the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
"Anyone caught with a Kalashnikov (assault rifle) will have his weapon confiscated and will probably be detained," warned US Colonel Douglas Nash, a member of the Joint Implementation Council overeeing the disarmament process.
Local KLA commander Bedri Zeqiri, however, said: "If we need weapons from the depots for training, we will take them."
KFOR warned the KLA on Wednesday that it would not tolerate any challenge to its mandate as the sole armed force in the Yugoslav province.
But Nash admitted the main problem remained one of communication with potential rogue KLA elements. "Some of these commanders are really hard-liners," he said.