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Kosova Daily Report #1587, 98-10-19
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1587
Prishtina, 19 October 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Serb Army Redeploys Near Podujeva, in Komoran, Skenderaj
[02] Albanian Killed by Serb Sniper Fire Sunday
[03] Serbs Open Fire in Mitrovica and Vushtrri Towns
[04] Serb Military and Police Step Up Movement, Deploying in Kosova
[05] Serb Army Plant Landmines in Prishtina Resort
[06] Serb Soldiers Run down 13-Year-old Albanian Girl in Mitrovica
[07] Wife Loses Track of Wounded Husband Taken Out of Hospital by Serbs Ten
Days Ago
[08] Serb Soldiers Torture Albanian, Spray With Fire Farmhouses in Zhur
[09] Serbs Bring Charred Bodies of Two Women in Gjakova Morgue
[10] Infant Dies for Lack of Medical Treatment in Pagarush&
[11] Serb Truckloads Take Away Looted Goods from Albanian Houses
[01] Serb Army Redeploys Near Podujeva, in Komoran, Skenderaj
The Milosevic regime has used international TV crews to film troops moving
out, but not moving in, Kosova
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - Serbian military troops were re-stationed today
(Monday) at a location called 'Tabet e Llapashtic&s', between the villages
of Llapashtica and Obran^&, near the northern town of Podujeva.
Serb military forces pulled out from that area last Friday, after a two-
month deployment there.
LDK sources in Podujeva said the Serb military convoys which arrived from
Prishtina consisted of around 70 vehicles, 50 of which tanks.
It is presumed the very same forces that had pulled out Friday came back to
re-take the same position threatening the 99 percent Albanian region in
northern Kosova.
Meanwhile, Reuters news agency quoted a Western diplomat as saying the
Serbian ('Yugoslav') army had moved a battalion-sized task force including
tanks, artillery and infantry units, into an area near Komoran.
"I saw at least 50 vehicles moving into the Komoran area west of Prishtina,
" the diplomat, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Belgrade has taken pains to offer TV shows of troop withdrawals from Kosova
in a bid to persuade the world it is abiding by the UN Security Council
Resolution 1199, as well as the deal Milosevic and Holbrooke made early
last week.
The Milosevic regime has used international TV crews to film troops moving
out, but not moving in, in Kosova.
[02] Albanian Killed by Serb Sniper Fire Sunday
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - Serb snipers manning the police checkpoint at
Rrezall& village of Skenderaj ('Srbica') killed yesterday (Sunday) Ali
Muharrem Ahmeti, 23, resident of Rrezall&.
The young Albanian had gone back to his home to fetch personal belongings.
Serb snipers shot at and killed Ali Ahmeti on the spot, the local chapter
of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said.
The killed Albanian was buried in Tushil& village Sunday.
[03] Serbs Open Fire in Mitrovica and Vushtrri Towns
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - For several hours Sunday night, Serb civilians
opened fire in the neighborhoods of "7 Shtatori", "Kroi i Vitakut" and
"Kodra e minator&ve" in the town of Mitrovica, LDK sources in Mitrovica
said.
These neighborhoods have a mixed ethnic population, Albanian and Serb.
Meanwhile, Serb military and police forces opened sporadic fire Sunday
evening in the town of Vushtrri, LDK sources said.
The sound of gunfire could be heard today coming from the villages at the
foot of the ^i^avica mountains, sources in Vushtrri said.
[04] Serb Military and Police Step Up Movement, Deploying in Kosova
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - Rather than withdrawing, as demanded by the
international community, Serbian military and police forces have been
stepping up their movement, repositioning and deployment all over Kosova,
local sources indicate.
In Malisheva area, in the town itself as well as in the villages of
Dragobil and Carralluk&, fresh Serb troops have arrived, LDK sources said.
Serb forces have been barricaded in Malisheva and in the villages of Kijev&,
Bubavec, Balinc&, Llazic&, Pllo^ic&, Gurbardh, Drenoc, Carralluk&,
Shkorashnik, Dragobil, Astrazub and Banj&. In some villages, Serbs have
been staying in Albanian houses alongside the roads, the LDK chapter in
Malisheva said.
On Sunday evening, 80 Serb military vehicles left the Prishtina garrison
and headed to Komoran area. A source in Sllatina village said a foreign
organization car escorted the convoy for some time.
Gunfire was heard Sunday evening, around 22:00 hrs, coming from the
villages of Korrotic& and Sankovc of the municipality of Gllogovc, a local
source said.
There have been no signs of Serb troop withdrawals from the Fush&- Kosova
area. They are concentrated at Vrell&, Pomozotin, in the Sllatina airport,
but also at a location known as the Pishat e Sllatin&s.
At midday today (Monday), seven lorries and other cars full of Serb police
left Mitrovica for Skenderaj, LDK sources said. Three Serb military lorries
travelled the same road at the time, they added.
Heavy Serb military and police forces have been concentrated in the
villages of Ferizaj and Ka^anik, local sources said.
On Sunday evening, around 100 Serb tanks and other motorized vehicles were
deployed in the villages of Soponic& and Semaj& of the municipality of
Ka^anik, LDK sources said.
Some forty Serb vehicles, tanks and lorries included, originating from
Ferizaj arrived at Doganaj village of Ka^anik late Sunday afternoon,
sources said.
Meanwhile, a Serb military convoys passed through the town of Ferizaj today
(Monday) around 11:00 hrs. Several tanks and other vehicles headed for
Ka^anik. While patrolling the roads, a Serb tank run into a Renault car
with the license plates UR 232-36, LDK sources said. There were no victims.
The car was destroyed.
Serb forces were heavily building up and repositioning in the region of
Drenica Sunday, local sources said.
The village of Polluzh& has been turned into a heavy Serb military base,
the local chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and
Freedoms (CDHRF) in Skenderaj said. Some 50 tanks have been deployed and
fortified in the village, eye-witnesses said.
Serb bulldozers have been digging in the courtyard of the "Emin Duraku"
school in Likoc for three days now. Tanks and other heavy Serb armament is
being dug in there. Ground-to-ground rockets were sent to the village
yesterday, too.
Most of the Serb forces have been staying in deserted Albanian houses in
Likoc, Mak&rmal and Polluzh&, the CDHRF said.
[05] Serb Army Plant Landmines in Prishtina Resort
PRISHTINA, Oct 16 (KIC) - The Serb army has planted mines in several places
in G&rmia, a wooded resort a couple of kilometers north-east of Kosova's
capital Prishtina.
The Prishtina-based Bujku newspaper said in its today's edition that signs
reading 'MINE' (mines) were seen hung since Sunday morning on the trees on
both sides of the road leading to the mountain top. A couple of signs were
also placed at the lane to the "G&rmia springs", a site the residents of
Prishtina use for picnics and jogging.
Referring to eyewitness accounts, Bujku daily said landmines in G&rmia were
planted over the past couple of days.
Serb army units have dug in in several strategic places in the hillsides of
the resort, witnesses said.
[06] Serb Soldiers Run down 13-Year-old Albanian Girl in Mitrovica
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - Early afternoon today (Monday), two Serb soldiers
driving a lorry run down the 13-year-old Valentin& Kadri Vojvoda in
Mitrovica.
The Serbs' lorry had the license plates M. 2100, whereas the seriously
injured Albanian girl originated from Llaush& village of Skenderaj
('Srbica').
LDK sources in Mitrovica said the Serb soldiers did not stop at all to
offer the girl the first aid.
Valentin& Vojvoda was initially taken to Mitrovica hospital, and ultimately
transferred to Prishtina for treatment of serious injuries.
[07] Wife Loses Track of Wounded Husband Taken Out of Hospital by Serbs Ten
Days Ago
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - The whereabouts of a wounded Albanian taken out
of the Prishtina hospital about ten days ago are unknown, his wife said.
Bislim Bislimi's wife from Dobresh village of Vitia claimed that her
wounded husband was taken out of the Surgery clinic in Prishtina on 11
October, and she has lost any track of him ever since. Mr. Bislimi, wounded
somewhere near Ferizaj, had stayed for one week in the Prishtina hospital
before being removed by the Serb police.
Sources in the Prishtina hospital said on 12 October seven wounded
Albanians were taken out of the Surgery Clinic in Prishtina the previous
day. They named four of them as Gjok Ndrecaj, Arb&r Spahiu, Bislim Bislimi,
and Avdi Krasniqi, while the identity of three others could not be learned.
The Serb police officers who escorted the wounded Albanians said they were
to be taken to the Lungs Disease Clinic in Prishtina.
Mrs Bislimi said she went to see her husband in the lungs disease clinic in
Dragodan neighborhood in Prishtina, but her husband was not there. She
learned three Serb security officers had taken him out of the clinic, but
she failed to know where he was taken to.
[08] Serb Soldiers Torture Albanian, Spray With Fire Farmhouses in Zhur
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - Lutfi Badallaj, resident of Vermica village in
Zhur region, western Kosova, was tortured badly by Serb soldiers on Sunday,
local sources said.
The LDK chapter in Prizren said Serb army forces remained dug in around
Albanian communities in the Zhur region, including the villages of V&rmic&,
Shkoz&, Dobrusht and Muradem&.
Lutfi Badallaj was attacked by Serb soldiers near his village and was
beaten brutally without any pretext whatsoever, the LDK said.
Serb soldiers intruded into the farmhouses of Izet Badallaj, Hashim Vezaj
and Fehim Muja.
Local residents said that Serb soldiers on board of a motorized convoy
sprayed with fire the outlying villages yesterday afternoon.
The local Albanian population in Zhur has found itself inside a virtual
siege, unable to move in or out because of the continued presence of Serb
army waging campaigns of intimidation.
[09] Serbs Bring Charred Bodies of Two Women in Gjakova Morgue
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - Last evening (Sunday), Serb policemen brought the
charred bodies of two women to the town morgue in Gjakova, local sources
reported.
The local LDK chapter in the town said it could not yet learn the identity
of the two women. They could both be around 35-40 years of age, with their
heads and bodies carbonated, according to sources in the hospital morgue.
The area around the Gjakova hospital is being strictly guarded by Serb
police, the LDK said. It added that yesterday the Serb police ordered the
employees of the town cemetery to bury the remains of an unidentified
Albanian. The man in his early twenties was brought by Serb forces to the
town morgue on Saturday.
The Serb regime media center in Prishtina said on Sunday that the Serb
troops had killed an Albanian near Krelan village of Gjakova on Saturday.
[10] Infant Dies for Lack of Medical Treatment in Pagarush&
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - On Sunday evening, the three-month infant boy of
Islam Krasniqi, a native of Pagarush& village of Malisheva, died for lack
of adequate medical treatment, LDK sources said.
An appalling humanitarian situation is reported in the Malisheva
municipality.
[11] Serb Truckloads Take Away Looted Goods from Albanian Houses
PRISHTINA, Oct 19 (KIC) - Serb vehicles loaded with domestic appliances
were seen today travelling the Skenderaj-Mitrovica roadway, witnesses told
the KIC.
Local sources in Skenderaj ('Srbica') and Mitrovica said Serb troops had
raided abandoned houses of Albanians in the area, where they took away
large amounts of commodities and appliances, including television sets,
satellite dishes, video players, ovens, etc.
Part of the pillage game was laden on huge TAM-made trucks.
A convoy of Serb forces consisting of 20 trucks, 5 tanks and other vehicles
was seen moving on the Skenderaj-Mitrovica at around 13:00 hrs today.
Kosova Information Center
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