Kosova Daily Report #1460, 98-06-14
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1460
Prishtina, 14 June 1998
First Edition: 13:30 CET
Second Edition: 18:45 CET
CONTENTS
[01] Serbian Forces Resume Attack against De^an Villages
[02] Serbian Forces Shell Three Gjakova Villages Today
[03] Two Albanians Killed by Serbian Forces at Morin& Saturday Evening
[04] 'Yugoslav' Military Convoy Passes Through Peja, Heads to Gjakova
[05] Serb Artillery Shell Three Villages in Klina
[06] Serb Forces Shell Llausha for 18 Consecutive Hours
[07] Sporadic Gunfire in Gllogovc Reported Overnight
[08] Albanian Picking Mushrooms Killed by Serb Military near Gjilan
[09] Mutilated Body of Albanian Spotted in Fields of Lipjan Village
[10] Senior Kosovar Trade-Union Officials Being Held Up, Maltreated in
Vojvodina
[11] Serbian Offensive Extends Deep Inside Kosova
[12] Scores of Albanian Houses Burned by Serb Forces in De^an Village
Today
[13] Serbian Forces Shell Llausha and Skenderaj Suburbs
[01] Serbian Forces Resume Attack against De^an Villages
16 'Katchusha" missiles launched in the morning PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) -
Serbian military and police forces mounted today morning a large-scale
attack against the villages of Carrabreg i Posht&m, Carrabreg i Ep&rm,
Drenoc and Prejlep in the municipality of De^anit, in western Kosova.
More than 500 shells have been fired into these villages since five o'clock
in the morning, Osman Cacaj, head of the LDK Information Commission in
De^an, told the KIC at 10 o'clock.
At 7:15 hrs, Serb forces launched 16 'Katchusha" missiles, Mr. Cacaj said.
At 4:40 hrs a convoy of 40 vehicles with combat equipment left the town of
Peja ('Pec') for De^an, whereas at 6 o'clock some 15 Serb tanks headed to
De^an area.
En route to De^an, members of the Serbian forces set ablaze a number of
houses in these villages, the LDK activist said, adding that at the time he
was speaking on the phone to the KIC many of the houses were in flames.
Mr. Osman Cacaj was reporting from the suburbs of De^an about the Serbian
forces' action.
He could not say immediately what the extent of the damage caused by
Serbian forces today was.
[02] Serbian Forces Shell Three Gjakova Villages Today
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Serbian forces have been shelling the villages
of Cermjan, Rakovin& and Kramavik since the morning today, local sources
said.
The echo of heavy fire, mortar and artillery, can be heard in the town of
Gjakova, and smoldering houses can be seen from afar.
Serbian reinforcement are being sent in from Gjakova.
Fierce clashes are thought being occurring between Serbian forces and the
local Albanian defendants in the three villages of the Dushkaja region.
The Gjakova-Prishtina roadway - along which the villages of Cermjan,
Rakovin& and Kramavik line - has been sealed off by Serbian police forces
in the suburbs of the town of Gjakova.
The intensity of fire, including heavy artillery, indicates that a frontal
Serbian attack is being resisted by the Albanian population, sources from
the area said.
[03] Two Albanians Killed by Serbian Forces at Morin& Saturday Evening
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Serbian forces launched an attack last evening
against the villages of the Reka e Keqe region, to the west of Gjakova
along the border with Albania, local sources said.
Local Albanian defendants put up a strong resistance to the Serbian
military assault.
The scene of the heaviest fighting was the village of Morin&, in the Kosova-
Albania border line.
Two Albanians, Muhamet Ukshini and Shkelzen Hasani, died in defense of
their homes, whereas a third Albanian was reported wounded.
The body of Muhamet was taken late last night by the Serb police to the
Gjakova town morgue.
The Serbian military had issued an ultimatum for all local Albanian
residents to leave the village of Morin&.
A similar ultimatum was given to the villages of Popoc and Ponoshec.
Roads leading from Gjakova to the Reka e Keqe region have been sealed off
by Serb police.
[04] 'Yugoslav' Military Convoy Passes Through Peja, Heads to Gjakova
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - A 'Yugoslav' army convoy with 25 lorries and
armored vehicles, equipped with combat arms, reached the town of Peja from
the direction of Istog Saturday at 18:00 hrs, sources said.
The convoy then proceeded towards Gjakova, they added.
[05] Serb Artillery Shell Three Villages in Klina
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Friday evening, from 20:00 through 21:00 hrs,
Serbian forces shelled the villages of K&puz, Qeskov& e Bokshiq in the
municipality of Klina, reports said today.
Saturday afternoon, Serbian paramilitary police forces with combat
equipment left the town of Klina for the three villages which have been
under a ring of steel for weeks now.
It is not clear what the aim of frequent shelling of these villages is, as
they have been reported destroyed, with most of the houses either levelled
or burned to the ground.
[06] Serb Forces Shell Llausha for 18 Consecutive Hours
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - The Llausha village in Skenderaj ('Srbica) was
intermittently shelled by Serb forces since Sunday afternoon, sources
said.
Fadil Gecaj, head of the LDK sub-chapter at Llausha, told the KIC today
morning that the Serb attack on his village was still under way.
The village has been intermittently shelled during the last 18 hours, he
said.
The local population have put up a strong defense against the unfolding
Serb attacks, Gecaj said.
Llausha has been held inside a deadly Serb siege since 5 March.
Serb forces have been dug in in several places around the village.
From these positions and a nearby former ammunition factory they have been
shelling farmsteads in the village on almost a daily basis.
[07] Sporadic Gunfire in Gllogovc Reported Overnight
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Gunfire was reported Saturday afternoon and
overnight in several villages of Gllogovc municipality and the town
itself.
The head of the LDK Information Commission in Gllogoc, Xhem& Binaku, told
the KIC Serb police opened fire at Villak village from their base in
Komoran yesterday afternoon.
Machine-gun fire was heard coming from the Serb police checkpoint in
Komoran on several occasions overnight.
Gunfire was also heard around the Ferrous-Nickel (Ferronikeli) plant near
Gllogovc, Xhem& Binaku said.
He said that Serb snipers from within the plant's compounds have been
continuously shooting at anything that moves in the area.
The LDK activist said a high-calibre machine-gun has been placed on the top
of the local post office in Gllogovc.
[08] Albanian Picking Mushrooms Killed by Serb Military near Gjilan
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Mefail Fejzullahu (32), born at Mohovc village
of the municipality of Bujanovc (in Serbia), with temporary residence in
the Kosovar eastern town of Gjilan, was killed Saturday evening by members
of the 'Yugoslav' army.
The Albanian was picking mushrooms in the woods of the village of
Velekinc&. Serb soldiers have been building up in the area in the past few
days, the KIC correspondent reported.
Velekinca lies just outside the town of Gjilan.
Details on the circumstances of Mefail's death are lacking. His body has
been reportedly taken to the Prishtina morgue.
Mefail Fejzullahu was married to a local school-teacher in the municipality
of Gjilan.
He will be buried in his native village of Mohoc.
[09] Mutilated Body of Albanian Spotted in Fields of Lipjan Village
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - The body of a murdered man was spotted Saturday
morning in the fields between the villages of Magura and Leletiq of
Lipjan.
An LDK activist in Magura told the KIC today he could learn the identity of
the dead man, naming him as Ajet Gashi (44), resident of Bubavec village of
Klina.
The body of the Albanian was mutilated, he said, but failed to say what the
cause of his death might have been.
The activist said the corpse is still laying in the fields, nobody having
come to collect it.
[10] Senior Kosovar Trade-Union Officials Being Held Up, Maltreated in
Vojvodina
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Three senior officials of the Union of
Independent Trade Unions of Kosova (UITUK) are being held up and maltreated
at the Kelebia border crossing in Subotica, a town in Vojvodina bordering
on Hungary.
Agim Hajrizi, Hasan Abazi and Rrahman Emini were halted Sunday morning at
the border crossing while on their way back home from an international
conference of European Union of Metallurgists held in Italy on 12-13 June.
Rrahman Emini told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) by phone that he and
his two colleagues were being held up and were subjected to brutal ill-
treatment by the police.
The Serb border police have not given any explanation as why we are being
held up and maltreated, he said.
[11] Serbian Offensive Extends Deep Inside Kosova
Three Albanians killed at Carralev&, Shtimje
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Serbian forces killed today three Albanians at
Carralev&, whereas a number of others were reported wounded, LDK sources in
the small municipality of Shtimje reported late afternoon.
A convoy of heavy Serb ('Yugoslav') army forces, backed up by tanks and
transporters and other combat equipment, left earlier in the day from
Ferizaj ('Urosevac'), passed through the small town of Shtimje, and headed
towards Duh&l.
The Carralev& Gorge (Gryka e Carralev&s) is situated between Shtimje and
Duh&l on the Prishtina-Prizren roadway.
LDK sources said detonations were being heard coming from Carralev& since
11:00.
Detonations ceased at around 18:00, sources told the KIC on the phone.
Serbian offensive operations have been focussed in the afternoon at the
village of Belinc, 2 kilometers away from Shtimje.
Heavy Serbian forces have been stationed in the woods near a location
called Kryqi i Belincit, a couple of kilometers away from Carralev&.
The population from the villages surrounding Carralev& - mostly women and
children - has left the homes and found shelter in safer areas.
An eventual cutting off of the Prishtina-Prizren roadway by Serbian forces
would mean cutting off the main communication route linking the Rrafshi i
Dukagjinit (the Dukagjin Plateau) and the Rrafshi i Kosov&s (the Kosova
Plateau), the two halves of the territory of Kosova.
[12] Scores of Albanian Houses Burned by Serb Forces in De^an Village
Today
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Serbian forces have mounted large-scale attacks
against De^an and its surrounding area today (Sunday).
Serbian shelling with 220 mm cannons, "Katchusha" missiles, and ground-to-
ground missiles, which started at 6 a.m., are still underway, local sources
said.
The villages of Drenoc, Prejlep, Rastavic&, Voksh, Sllup, Junik, Jasiq,
Gjocaj, etc, have been reported targted in today's offensive.
More than 30 Albanian houses have been reported burned down today afternoon
alone: at Strellc i Ep&rm 6 houses, at L&bush& 5, at Isniq 3, in De^an 4,
at Carrabreg i Ul&t 3, etc.
Serbian forces have embarked on sweeping campaigns of raids and looting in
many villages.
Some 100 cattle have been reported stolen and taken to the base of Serbian
forces near the De^an Monastery, sources said.
Today's shelling has been conducted mainly from the 'Yugoslav' military
base at Hulaj as well as a location called Ura e Bajram Hasanit.
Heavy 'Yugoslav' army forces with 65 vehicles of all types, as well as
tanks and armoured vehicles, and accessory combat equipment, arrived in the
area of De^an early morning today.
[13] Serbian Forces Shell Llausha and Skenderaj Suburbs
PRISHTINA, June 14 (KIC) - Serbian forces have been shelling the suburbs of
Skenderaj ('Srbica') and the nearby village of Llausha, an LDK source told
the KIC on the phone late afternoon today.
Two houses have been burning in the Hospital Neighborhood in Skenderaj
after having been hit by Serbian shells.
Two busloads of armed Serb civilians arrived in Skenderaj today, the source
said.
Saturday afternoon Serbian forces started shelling the Llausha village and
the suburbs of the town of Skenderaj adjacent to Llausha.
There have been no immediate reports on possible casualties during today's
shelling which has been still going on after 18:00 hrs, when a local LDK
activist spoke on the phone to the KIC.
Kosova Information Center
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