Kosova Daily Report #1505, 98-07-29

Kosovo Information Center: Kosova Daily Report Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Kosova Information Center <http://www.kosova.com/>

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1505
Prishtina, 29 July 1998

First Edition: 17:30 hrs
Second Edition: 18:30 hrs

CONTENTS

[01] President Rugova Receives the EU Troika

[02] Rugova, Rohan and Ischinger to the Press

[03] Serbian Forces Advance Into Malisheva with 50 Tanks

[04] Alarming Situation in Skenderaj, Entire Villages Reported in Flames

[05] Serb Military Offensive on Junik and the Reka e Keqe Region Continues

[06] Village in Suhareka Shelled by Serb Forces

[07] Serb Forces Shell Villages in Shtime

[08] Serb Forces Attack Albanian Villages of Opoja Region

[09] Serb Pound Albanian Houses and Farms in Klina

[10] Firefighting Reported around Obiliq Villages

[11] Volatile Situation in Villages Neighboring on Drenica

[12] Advancing Serb Troops Loot and Burn Albanian Houses

[13] Serb Police Detains Kosova Parliament Vice-President

[14] Hunger Striking 'Angel', Sally Becker, Unconscious in Prison Hospital

[15] Serbs Resume Deploying Fresh Military Troops in Kosova

[16] Five Killed in Malisheva Municipality

[01] President Rugova Receives the EU Troika

The EU troika - political directors of the previous, current, and future EU presidency holders - is on a mission to Belgrade and Prishtina. We have come to express the support of the European Union for a peaceful settlement to the Kosova issue, Albert Rohan said.

President Rugova and the EU senior officials discussed the current developments in Kosova.

Rugova said the latest Serbian military and police offensive has left many victims and thousands of uprooted persons. The Serb operations against the unprotected Kosova population, including summary executions of entire families, are aimed at a massive ethnic cleansing of Kosova, President Rugova stressed. He urged for an urgent international intervention and preventive measures to protect the people of Kosova, and stop the ethnic cleansing campaign.

President Rugova said the people of Kosova and its leadership have been making efforts to handle the prevailing dramatic situation through a better organization. "We are in the process of creating an all-party government. Progress has been made in this direction, but the process could not be completed because of the latest Serb offensives and the dramatic situation on the ground," he said, adding that consultations between political forces for a stronger democratic unity in Kosova have been continuing.

The Kosova President said it was critical for dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade to resume, but it could be done only after the Serb aggression had ceased, and an appropriate climate for meaningful and substantial negotiations has been created.

[02] Rugova, Rohan and Ischinger to the Press

President Rugova said the meeting was held at a time Kosova is going through "difficult times", in the wake of Serbian offensives in Malisheva and Junik.

"We called for preventive measures by the European Union, the United States of America, and indeed the international community, to prevent ethnic cleansing in Kosova, to prevent massacres and displacement of the population", Ibrahim Rugova told reporters.

He said there as been some progress in the work to form a broadly- based coalition government in Kosova, which would include all political forces, and create the conditions for talks with Belgrade, the President said.

Albert Rohan, the Secretary-General of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Our message is very clear: violence has to stop immediately. We cannot tolerate the increasing number of victims, destruction, hostages. A dialogue on the negotiated solution of this problem must start immediately. Our view is that it is very important that the whole stuff of political leadership in Kosovo is united in one platform. Therefore, we support President Rugova in his efforts."

Asked by reporters whether they were optimistic, Wolfgang Ischinger, the Political Director in the German Foreign Ministry said: "I am always optimistic. We are never going to give up. We are going to pursue this, and there is going to be in the end a negotiated settlement to the problem. We share your grief, we share everyone's impatience with lack of success so far. We'll be spending another day in Belgrade, making the points that we continue to make with the authorities there. That's our job."

[03] Serbian Forces Advance Into Malisheva with 50 Tanks

Serbian forces with some 50 tanks advanced into the small town of Malisheva yesterday. The area had been dubbed an U^K 'stronghold', but the U^K had retreated without a fight.

Many villages in the municipality, from the village of Kijeva on the Prishtina-Peja highway, to the town of Malisheva have been burning, with unharvested wheatfields set ablaze, local sources said.

The house of Ramadan Krasniqi was burned by Serb forces, and an oil station owned by him damaged, whereas many other buildings plundered, sources said.

Reports said the village of Shkoz& in Malisheva was being shelled by Serb forces today.

A stepped up movement of Serb police and military is reported in the municipality.

There was overnight shelling and gunfire in the villages of Drenoc and Zatriq, the municipality of Rahovec, sources said.

[04] Alarming Situation in Skenderaj, Entire Villages Reported in Flames

The local chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Skenderaj said the village of Runik has been ablaze since morning today. Another village, Kost&rc, was burned down almost completely last evening when Serb infantry advanced into it, the CDHRF said.

Since yesterday, Serb troops have been pounding other villages in the area, including Runik (all houses of the Sejdiu extended families have been leveled to the ground already), Kllodernica, Leqina, Padalishta, ^itaku, Vitaku, ^ubreli, Radisheva and Kotorri.

These villages were shelled from a rocket system on Mokna mountains. Multiple rocket launchers were also used in the attack, the human rights council said.

The village of Llausha e Ep&rme, houses along the Peja-Mitrovica road in particular, have been under incessant fire since yesterday afternoon.

Central Drenica has been flooded by waves of people fleeing the villages under Serb fire, as well as from the municipalities of Gllogovc, Klina and Malisheva, areas which have been attacked by Serb troops since last weekend. A large number of uprooted people, have spent the past few days and nights in the open sky, mostly along the Fush& Kosova-Peja railway road.

Sources in Skenderaj said the villages of Kryshevc, Prekaz and Polac came under heavy Serb artillery fire today afternoon, beginning from 1:30 p.m. LDK sources could so far learn about one man wounded in Kryshevc.

The two villages have been swelled by Albanians who had fled area under Serb attack. Thus, it is feared that casualty-toll can been high.

[05] Serb Military Offensive on Junik and the Reka e Keqe Region Continues

Local Albanian resistance forces have been putting up a strong resistance, sources said.

In the latest Serb offensive last night and today Serb helicopter gunships flew overhead the town of Gjakova and headed to the battlefields.

The sound of heavy artillery detonations was heard all night in Gjakova.

The town itself is sealed off, so it has been impossible to learn about the casualty-toll or indeed the extent of damage in Reka e Keqe and the in the region of Has, which have likewise been under Serb attack.

The population is on the move, streaming not only towards the town of Gjakova and other villages, but also to the wooded areas.

A humanitarian catastrophe is feared.

The local Albanian structures called on the international community and NGOs to intervene so as to help the suffering population.

[06] Village in Suhareka Shelled by Serb Forces

No casualties were reported.

Food and medical supplies are running low in many villages in the municipality.

Many people fleeing the neighboring Malisheva municipality have been on the move, seeking shelter in the western villages of the municipality of Suhareka.

There was a half-hour fighting yesterday afternoon in Bira^, above the vineyards of Suhareka. Several shells landed in the village of Sllapuzhan, but the consequences are unknown.

There was intermittent automatic fire from Serb checkpoints last night in Suhareka. The population lives in anxiety.

[07] Serb Forces Shell Villages in Shtime

The LDK Information Commission in Shtime said Serb forces entered today in the village of Zborc.

The population of these villages has found itself under Serb siege and under constant threat of fresh attacks, LDK sources said.

[08] Serb Forces Attack Albanian Villages of Opoja Region

The fighting went on till late evening, LDK said.

Another source said the villages of Pllav& and Brezne were shelled by Serb forces positioned in Dubrav&.

There were no immediate reports on casualties.

A large number of people from the villages of Brezne, Buqe and Pllav& were forced to flee their homes and seek shelter in relatively safer areas.

The LDK Information Commission in Dragash quoted eye-witnesses as saying a group of citizens was arrested by police today.

A senior army officer was killed and a police officer wounded in unclear circumstances Tuesday evening, LDK sources in Dragash said.

[09] Serb Pound Albanian Houses and Farms in Klina

The villages of Si^ev&, Ujmir&, Gllarev&, Jashanic& were shelled for several hours last night, from a couple of Serb positions in the area. The LDK Commission in Klina said many houses were burned down in the villages, but it could not say if there were human casualties.

Witnesses told the KIC that smoke was billowing today morning from villages on both sides of the Prishtina-Peja roadway, around Klina and Kijeva.

Meanwhile, the LDK chapter in Klina said it learned that two Albanians - Xhemail Daka (75) and Bal& Balaj (50) - were killed during the Serb shelling of Cerovik village last night.

Another man, Alush Berisha (1956) from Gjurgjevik i Madh village, was killed yesterday afternoon.

[10] Firefighting Reported around Obiliq Villages

LDK sources in Obiliq said the villages of Hamidi, Lajthisht& and Sibofc were fired upon from Serb positions near Hade and Janovod&, as well as the "Kosova B" power plant in Dobrosell&.

The same source said the fighters of U^K also fired back on Serb positions today morning. The local defense units in Grabovc Ul&t village repelled last night an attempt of a group of Serbs to raid abandoned Albanian houses and loot them.

Yugoslav army aircraft flew low overhead the villages of Obiliq and Fush&- Kosova today morning.

Sources in Fush&-Kosova ('Kosovo Polje') said Serb policemen manning a checkpoint near Bardhi village opened fire in the direction of passersby and workers leaving the mines.

[11] Volatile Situation in Villages Neighboring on Drenica

The mining town of Magur&, and the villages Shal& and Krojmir, are particularly vulnerable, the LDK chapter in Lipjan said. The area has been under intermittent fire for several days now, it said.

Witnesses told the KIC that a 45-year-old Albanian was killed yesterday at Shala village.

The Krojmir village was pounded with heavy artillery today morning.

The local population has been in panic and on the move, fearing an imminent crackdown on the village by Serbs infantry. Witnesses said that Serbs have been raiding and looting the abandoned houses of Albanians in Magure. Most of the local Albanian population left this mining town ten days ago, when Serb troops launched a heavy artillery attack against the villages in its vicinity, Vershec and Leletiq.

[12] Advancing Serb Troops Loot and Burn Albanian Houses

The LDK Information Commission said that after having shelled for hours the village of Belinca, on the Shtime-Prizren road, the Serb forces have advanced into the village, plundering and then burning farmhouses there.

The LDK said the intensity of fighting in the area has abated today, though the echo of sporadic detonations can be still heard in the town of Shtime.

[13] Serb Police Detains Kosova Parliament Vice-President

The Albanian Christian-Democratic Party of Kosova (PSHDK), to which Zef Morina is a member, said he was interrogated for a couple of hours about the newly convened Parliament.

The PSHDK said Mr. Morina was ordered to report back to the premises of the Serb security.

[14] Hunger Striking 'Angel', Sally Becker, Unconscious in Prison Hospital

Supporters of the 37-year-old Briton, dubbed the 'Angel of Mostar', said she had been put on an emergency fluid drip by doctors after five days of refusing food and drink in protest against the conflict in Kosova.

Miss Becker was sentenced last week by the Serbian authorities to 30-days in prison for crossing into Kosova without a visa.

Her spokesman in Britain, Mike Mendoza, said friends and relatives were hopeful an appeal against the jail term on humanitarian grounds would lead to the charity worker being released soon.

Mr Mendoza said: "Sally is seriously ill, she was put on an intravenous drip after collapsing unconscious in her cell."

The British aid worker's father, Jack Becker, is due to fly out to Kosova after being granted a visa by the Serb authorities.

[15] Serbs Resume Deploying Fresh Military Troops in Kosova

The LDK Information Commission in Podujeva, the town in north- eastern Kosova near the border with Serbia, said today that a convoy of around 60 military trucks of the Yugoslav army drove through Podujeva, heading to Prishtina, capital of Kosova, today at around 13:00 hrs.

Sources in Fush& Kosova said that a huge shipment of Serb troops and equipment, including 16 tanks, arrived today morning in the local railway station.

Several huge convoys of Serb army troops, escorted by police armored vehicles, have been reported entering Kosova from Serbia over the past few days.

[16] Five Killed in Malisheva Municipality

PRISHTINA, July 29 (KIC) - Xhevdet Bajraj, a writer from Rahovec, himself a refugee in Malisheva after Serb crackdown on Rahovec, told the KIC by phone from the village of Ponorc three Albanians are known to have been killed: Smajl Morina (58), and Hysen Krasniqi (62), mute and deaf, both residents of Drenoc, and Sejdi Javori (76) from Llazic& village. In the village of Bubavec two unidentified corpses have been spotted, he said.

Yesterday, Serbian troops, with some 50 tanks, took over Malisheva, dubbed for months the 'stronghold' of U^K. The latter retreated without a combat.

Tens of thousands of people, many of whom refugees themselves, were on the move yesterday while the Serb forces were advancing into Malisheva.

The chapter of the LDK in Malisheva called today on the international community - the UN Security Council, the United States of America, and the EU - and humanitarian organizations to do whatever is in their power to save the population of Malisheva "from extermination by Serbian violence". Food and medical supplies are desperately needed, the LDK said.

The chapter further called on the U^K and some political forces to respect and abide by the decisions of the institutions of the Republic of Kosova.

A prominent LDK activist in Malisheva, Cen Desku, told the KIC by phone the local LDK leadership was standing by and sharing the fate of the people there.

Mr. Desku said tens of thousands of displaced people have fled to the wooded forests of the villages of Ponorc, Turjak& and Llap^ev&.

Basic staples, even bread and water, are lacking there, sources said.

Drinking water is in short supply: there are only two wells in Ponorc.

Kosova Information Center

Kosovo Information Center: Kosova Daily Report Directory - Previous Article - Next Article