But he maintained that it could not defeat the Kosovo force.
Even spokesmen for the Kosovo peacekeeping force were giving out different numbers.
Some patrol the streets jointly with the new Kosovo force, who carry guns and arrest suspects.
His remarks were echoed in a separate interview today with another senior officer in the Kosovo peacekeeping force.
The Yugoslav officials said they were ultimately prepared to shrink their Kosovo force to the "peacetime" level.
During this posting he deployed to Kosovo as part of the Kosovo Force.
A spokesman for the Kosovo peacekeeping force confirmed they had seen some small-arms and mortar fire on the Serbian side of the boundary Tuesday.
The other senior commander in KFOR, as the Kosovo peacekeeping force is known, agreed.
Soft-spoken, even shy, he said he studied metal engineering in college and helped found the Kosovo force in the early 1990's when he was a student.
The region was under the sporadic control of the Kosovo Force and Mike had expected more efficient checks than had been characteristic up to this point.
