PODGORICA, Yugoslavia, April 8 (AFP) - Belgrade's federal forces, already in a

state of tension with local authorities in Montenegro, announced Saturday they

were setting up a new military police battalion in the dissident Yugoslav

minority republic.

The Montenegro leadership suspects the central Yugoslav government of

President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade of trying to use locally stationed

forces of his federal army to de-stabilise it.

General Milorad Obradovic told an audience at a barracks here the new police

unit was being set up as part of "reorganisation and formation of new units

equipped to, and capable of, opposing any type of activity by a possible

enemy."

It showed "the firm will of the army to defend the country against all forms

of threat by any means."

The Montenegro government has several times accused Belgrade of setting up

paramilitary units disguised as military police.

Meanwhile Belgrade has in turn accused Montenegro of setting up

disproportionately large and heavily-armed police units with a possible

military capacity.

The election in 1997 of pro-western Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic, an

open critic of Milosevic, deprived the Yugoslav president of absolute control

over the smaller Yugoslav republic after Serbia.

Last Sunday, NATO supreme commander General Wesley Clark said the alliance was

concerned about possible Serbian interference in Montenegro and was monitoring

the situation closely.

He had earlier warned Milosevic had set up a 1,000-strong paramilitary unit

with the intention of overthrowing the government in Podgorica.