The UN Security Council late last night authorised an Italian-led force to guard deliveries of food and other necessities in Albania for three months and help the country recover from violence and near-anarchy.
The vote was 14 to 0 with China abstaining on a resolution that invoked Chapter 7 of the UN Charter which permits the use of force to protect freedom of movement for the troops in what the council called a "multinational protection force".
China said it could not support the operation because the chaos in Albania was an internal affair and because it did not approve of the use of force.
The mandate for the operation runs for three months at which time the council can decide whether it should be extended. It will be financed by those nations taking part, the resolution said.
The council also welcomed an offer by Italy, contained in separate letter, to take the lead in organising and commanding the mission whose purpose is to "facilitate the safe and prompt delivery of humanitarian assistance and to help create a secure environment for the missions of international organisations in Albania.
Earlier, Greece, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Turkey and, Romania all expressed willingness to take part in the force to safeguard shipments of basic supplies such as flour and medicines.
The Albanian President, Mr. Sali Berisha, had renewed his calls yesterday for a UN-approved force to be sent to the country, saying that foreign police or troops were essential to safeguard aid supplies.
In the countryside, a gun battle in which 20 people were killed and the looting of an arsenal contrasted starkly with signs of a return to calm with the arrival of a first Red Cross aid lorry and plans for a soccer match in Tirana today.
President Berisha met a European Union-led group in Tirana seeking ways to help to restore order after the UN Security Council began its informal talks on the Italian request for authorisation of a multinational force.
Italy has estimated that about 2,500 personnel would be deployed initially, with another 2,500 in reserve.
The Dutch diplomat, Mr Jan de Marchant et d'Ansembourg, heading the EU delegation that included experts from the OSCE security group and the Council of Europe, told a news conference that the Security Council might meet again yesterday or at the weekend.
He said relief efforts would be largely ineffective until Tirana's airport and the ports of Durres and Vlore were secured. To illustrate the crisis, he said, "the government is simply not able to feed its own army" and food shortages would soon be a threat to the "poorest people in, Albania.
Police were investigating the deaths of 20 people in clashes in the village of Frakull, in central Albania, on Thursday night, the highest toll in two months of crisis that have claimed well over 100 lives. Villagers shot dead 17 gunmen who drove to the village and began firing weapons in the street. Three villagers were killed in the unexplained exchange, police said.
Radio Tirana said looters seized weapons from a military arsenal near the town of Gramsh after 10 hours of fighting with police. It said the attackers broke down resistance by shielding themselves behind dozens of children.
But in a sign of hope, the first Red Cross relief lorry since the crisis erupted crossed into southern Albania from Greece to test perilous road routes. The lorry accompanied by two jeeps and carrying 10 tonnes of basic food like flour and sugar, dropped off supplies at hospitals, orphanages and old people's homes. The vehicles had turned back at the border on Thursday after an aborted first attempt.
In another sign of normality, the capital's two main soccer, teams decided to play a friendly today, the first match between leading teams since January. Several major banks planned to reopen on Tuesday after about two weeks' closure.