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PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, Sept 8 (AFP) - The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has reached agreement in principle with the NATO-led force KFOR to turn itself into a civilian force after its forthcoming disarmament deadline, a senior KFOR officer said Wednesday.
The text of an agreement with the KLA is to be submitted to the United Nations by the UN's mission chief in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, who is currently in New York, KFOR's French second-in-command General Jean-Claude Thomann said.
"There should be a force of 3,000 active personnel, with 2,000 reservists. Its emphasis will be humanitarian, with the mission of taking on the task of the reconstruction of Kosovo," he said.
According to the general, the model for the new force will be France's Civil Protection Service, a 1,200-strong body responsible for urgent intervention in large-scale accidents or natural disasters -- most recently during last month's earthquake in Turkey.
The text of the agreement says that the KLA can keep 200 revolvers for the self-protection of its senior officers, the general said.
This falls far short of the demands of many KLA commanders, who want the organisation to remain a significant armed force, despite its undertaking to KFOR to hand over all its weapons by September 19.
"In the short to medium term, there's no question of a (Kosovo Albanian) army," said General Thomann. After September 19, those who had not handed over their weapons would be considered "armed rebel gangs."
The general said the cost of implementing the agreement would be between 72 and 82 million euros (75 to 85 million dollars), spread over three to five years. He asked for the help of the international community in paying for it.
"If we don't find the money to put the deal into effect on September 19, we'll have our backs up against the wall," he said.