SKOPJE, Macedonia — NATO revealed Sunday that it plans to collect 3,300 weapons from ethnic Albanian militants in a delicate operation it described as being Macedonia's only alternative to war.
By revealing the figures, NATO sets boundaries for its mission in Macedonia. Called Operation Essential Harvest, it envisions NATO troops setting up collection sites to take weapons as rebels turn them in. NATO has said it plans to complete the process in 30 days and leave.
But the number of weapons NATO decided on could become an obstacle to carrying out the plan.
Macedonian government officials, who say the rebels have thousands more weapons than they have admitted to, said later Sunday that they had not agreed to accept NATO's figures.
Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, a consistent opponent of the weapons collection plan, described NATO's estimates of rebel arms as "humiliating."
The dispute opened the possibility that the weapons collection process won't start as planned Monday. By early Sunday evening, political leaders had failed to order their forces to pull back from areas surrounding drop-off sites — a key requirement for NATO to start weapons collections.
"Our regrouping will be simultaneous with the arrival and deployment of NATO troops," said Marjan Gjurovski, the Macedonian defense spokesman.
NATO's announcement came hours after a deadly explosion ripped through a motel, killing two people and further complicating the alliance's efforts to build confidence between the rebels and the government ahead of its mission.
The Macedonian-owned motel was in Celopek, a village six miles south of the predominantly Albanian city of Tetovo.
Georgievski called the attack "barbaric."
"I have suggested that Macedonia must legitimately respond or retaliate either with a military or police action," he said. It was unclear if the government would actually act.
Later Sunday, the explosion of what was apparently a bomb in a trash can in the capital, Skopje, shattered nearby store windows and damaged two cars. No injuries were reported in the blast, which police said was likely caused by industrial explosives.
The explosion took place in an ethnic Albanian neighborhood, but about 50 yards from an Orthodox church. Most ethnic Albanians are Muslims; most Macedonians are Orthodox Christians.