Kosova Daily Report #1648, 98-12-27
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1648
Prishtina, 27 December 1998
First Edition: 13:30 CET
Second Edition: 16:30 CET
CONTENTS
[01] Serb Forces Renew Heavy Attack, Shell Obran^& and Llapashtic& Villages
Sunday
[02] Serb in Obran^& Was Killed by U^K on Saturday
[03] Serbian Shelling Stops, Grave Consequences Feared in Podujeva Area
[04] Schoolteacher, Seriously Wounded in Obran^&, In Critical Condition
[06] President Rugova's Aid Calls for NATO Intervention in Kosova
[06] Kosova Government Deplores "Brutal Offensive Carried out by FRY- Serb
Forces' in Llapi Region of Kosova
[01] Serb Forces Renew Heavy Attack, Shell Obran^& and Llapashtic& Villages
Sunday
Police holds the town of Podujeva under a severe grip; thousands of
Albanians have fled their homes in villages; the bodies of a number of
Albanians killed on Thursday found today...
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - Heavy Serbian forces backed up by tanks and
artillery pieces renewed their attack today (Sunday) against the villages
of Obran^& and Llapashtic& villages, a couple kilometres west of the town
of Podujeva in northeastern Kosova.
Serbian forces launched a sweeping attack at around 9 o'clock in the
morning today.
At noon and early in the afternoon, the village of Obran^& was being
reported shelled by a great number of Serb military tanks deployed along
the Podujeva - Peran roadway, a couple of kilometres long.
Both Obran^& and Llapashtic& villages are being shelled also by Serb army
tanks deployed earlier in the compounds of the Brick Factory in Podujeva.
Eye-witnesses said columns of smoke are billowing from the village of
Obran^&.
In the suburbs of Obran^& and the outskirts of Podujeva leading towards
Llapashtic&, Serb forces have been reported raiding and looting Albanian
houses.
Thousands of Albanians - mainly women, children and the elderly - have fled
the villages of Obran^&, Llapashtic&, Gllamnik, Sekira^&, Buric&, Konushec
and two Podujeva neighborhoods. They have sought refuge mainly in the
northern villages of Bradash and Katunisht& ('Velika Reka') as well as
southward, in Majac, Lup^ and other outlying villages. The new refugees,
who had to flee their homes in freezing temperatures amidst the unfolding
Serb offensive in the past four days, are said to be in desperate need of
emergency aid.
Last night, the U^K units found the body of Ajvaz Potera (43) in his native
village of Llapashtic& e Ul&t. He was a mentally- retarded man, and was
killed during the Serb offensive against the village.
Two U^K soldiers, killed on Thursday, were found today in Obran^& village.
An eye-witness from Podujeva said two bodies remained lying near the
farmhouse of Bajrush Murati, near the 'Tabet e Llapashtic&s'.
They could not be collected because the area was sniped by Serbian forces.
A critical situation has been reported prevailing today in Podujeva, a town
with 20,000 inhabitants, 30 km north of capital Prishtina.
Reports said four Serb police officers with a Toyota-made car with license
plates PR: 676-79 distributed Saturday afternoon (around 14:00 hrs) weapons
to Serb civilians in two neighborhoods in Podujeva. The LDK Information
Commission in Podujeva said the weapons were distributed to Serbs in the
"25 May" and "Divizioni 22" streets.
Meanwhile, two heavy detonations were reported heard in the town of
Podujeva today morning. There has been no immediate word on the
consequences.
The town streets are virtually empty, with very few people daring to go
out. Serb snipers have been for days now on top of community buildings,
while Serb forces roam the streets, holding Albanian houses at gun-point.
An eye-witness said the local Serb civilian population has been fleeing the
town of Podujeva.
[02] Serb in Obran^& Was Killed by U^K on Saturday
Milovan Radojevic had opened fire and wounded an U^K fighter, local U^K
commander says
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - The local Serb, Milovan Radojevic (65), who was
killed in Obran^& village of Podujeva on Saturday, had opened fire and
wounded an U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) fighter, the U^K commander for the
Operative Zone of Llapi region in northern Kosova told the Koha Ditore
newspaper on Sunday.
"The father (Milan Radojevic) and his son, certainly aided by their
neighbors, opened fire from their house in Obran^&", the U^K commander
known as 'Remi', said. "Our soldiers asked them to surrender, and two of
them gave in, and they have been duly treated as war prisoners, whereas he
(Milan) who refused to do so was killed" by the U^K.
The killed Serb had opened fire and "lightly wounded" an U^K fighter, Remi
said, adding that the Serb attacker's house had been raided then, and
weapons seized there by the U^K.
Serbian military and police forces had made only minor encroachments in U^K
positions in the Podujeva area during Thursday's offensive, Remi said. Five
Serb tanks remain in the area, which they "will be collected [by Serbs]
with the mediation of the international community tomorrow (Sunday)", the
U^K commander said.
At least 10 Albanians, nine of whom civilians, were killed by Serbian
forces on Thursday.
[03] Serbian Shelling Stops, Grave Consequences Feared in Podujeva Area
Serbian forces machine-gunned a number of Albanian houses in Podujeva
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - The LDK sources in the town of Podujeva said the
shelling of Serbian military and police forces against a number of Albanian
villages, launched earlier today (Sunday), stopped at around 14:00 hrs.
The villages of Obran^&, Katunisht& ('Velika Reka'), Llapashtic&, and
Buric&, west of Podujeva, were shelled for several hours in a row.
Several Serb tanks and other Serb vehicles withdrew from Obran^&, but three
to four tanks and a number of APCs were still inside the village, a couple
of km west of Podujeva, sources said in mid- afternoon.
The consequences of the heavy Serb shelling is still by and large unknown.
Killed and wounded are feared. The attacked area was blanketed with a dense
fog today afternoon.
There is a ubiquitous Serb police presence in the town of Podujeva, home to
20,000 people, and in its outskirts.
Serbian forces occupying the Besiana hotel, at the edge of Podujeva, on the
Prishtina-Podujeva highway leading to Nis (Serbia), have machine-gunned a
number of Albanian houses of the Bu^aj and Visoka family compounds in
Podujeva. The houses of Isak Bu^aj, Ram& Bu^aj, Adem Bu^aj, Osman Visoka,
Shefki Visoka, and Ram& Visoka have been fired upon, LDK sources said.
Shooting was reported also in the Albanian neighbourhood where the Serb
church is situated in Podujeva.
Meanwhile, the Serb regime Media Center in Prishtina said a Serb, Dragoslav
Zdravkovic (1936), was wounded today morning in the village of Katunisht&
('Velika Reka'). Reportedly, the Serb farmer was fired upon with automatic
weapons. He responded by shooting back to the assailants, the Serb Center
said.
The village of Obran^& is on the way to Katunisht&. Both villages were
shelled by Serbian forces today.
Agim Veliu, vice-chairman of the LDK chapter in Podujeva, told the KIC by
phone several thousand Albanians - mostly women, children and elderly -
have been forced to flee their homes in Buric&, Konushec, Gllamnik,
Llapashtic&, the outskirts of the town of Podujeva, Obran^& and Katunisht&
('Velika Reka') villages. Part of the displaced population have sought
refuge in neighbouring villages, others are living rough in the wooded
mountains, in a dramatic situation amidst freezing temperatures.
The local LDK official called on the international community to intervene
militarily in Kosova. "Only such an intervention can save the people of
Kosova from further Serbian massacres", Mr. Veliu said.
[04] Schoolteacher, Seriously Wounded in Obran^&, In Critical Condition
The Albanian is in desperate need of urgent medical treatment
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - Mr. Remzi Demolli, a schoolteacher in the village
of Obran^&, sustained serious wounds today (Sunday) during the Serbian
offensive against this village, 2 km west of the northern town of Podujeva.
The wounded Albanian teacher is in a critical condition in the village of
Llapashtic&, local sources said.
A doctor who gave Mr. Demolli the first aid said he had sustained life-
threatening wounds and needed to be urgently taken to Prishtina for
treatment. The doctor asked for help from Prishtina, because the roads have
been closed off by Serbian forces.
The owner of a private ambulance told the KIC he was turned back by the
Serb police when he tried to enter the town of Podujeva today.
The only chance for the Albanian teacher wounded in his home to survive is
for the International Red Cross or any other international humanitarian
organization to step in.
[05] President Rugova's Aid Calls for NATO Intervention in Kosova
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - An energetic international intervention,
including by NATO forces, may force the Belgrade regime to halt its
aggression and ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosova, Mr. Xhemail Mustafa,
press advisor to the President of the Republic of Kosova, said in a
statement to the Kosova Information Center (KIC) Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Mustafa noted that heavy Serb military and police forces attacked again
today the villages of Obran^& and Llapashtic&, in the municipality of
Podujeva, using "tanks and other artillery pieces".
The fact that Serbian forces have been attacking the Llapi region for the
fourth day in a row is evidence that the Belgrade regime is undermining and
openly disregarding the OSCE Kosova Verification Mission (KVM), Mr. Mustafa
said. In addition, "with this renewed aggressive action, whose tragic
consequences are borne by the Albanian civilian population, the Serb regime
is making a negotiating process between Prishtina and Belgrade on the
political resolution of the Kosova issue impossible".
Xhemail Mustafa said there were indications that an agreement for a truce
between the U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) and the Serbian forces would be
reached under the mediation of the KVM's head, Ambassador Walker, so that
the situation in Llapi region be calmed with a restoration of the cease-
fire violated by the Serb troops earlier this week. "Today's attack by
Serbian forces is also directed against such a possibility, underscoring
the unwillingness of the Belgrade regime to calm the situation and seek a
political solution".
The Serb offensive against the Llapi region, in northern Kosova, as well as
the ever increasing Serb forces' presence and provocations up and down
Kosova, make it necessary that the international community intervene here,
Rugova's aide said. "Only an intervention by NATO forces can force Belgrade
give up its retaliatory operations against the Albanian civilian population
on a large scale, halt its aggressive actions against the U^K positions,
as well as the ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosova", Xhemail Mustafa
said in a statement to the KIC.
[06] Kosova Government Deplores "Brutal Offensive Carried out by FRY- Serb
Forces' in Llapi Region of Kosova
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - The Government of the Republic of Kosova
"deplores the brutal offensive carried out by FRY-Serb forces", a statement
referring to the unfolding Serbian offensive in northern Kosova, which was
launched on 24 December, said.
Following is the text of today's statement signed by Dr. Bujar Bukoshi,
Prime Minister of Kosova in exile: "Once again, the victims of the entirely
unjustifiable breach of the purported cease-fire are innocent civilians.
Once again it is the civilians who must pay the price for the misguided
faith that has been placed in the word of Slobodan Milosevic.
The renewed streams of refugees, fleeing from their villages as a direct
result of systematic military operations, conducted as before as part of a
pattern of terror, intimidation and ethnic cleansing, must now trigger a
forceful international response. The credibility of NATO, the OSCE and
their member states has been challenged by this onslaught launched on
Christmas Eve.
The Government of the Republic of Kosova, and, indeed, the population of
Kosova, cannot be expected to continue cooperation with the international
presence in Kosova, if the process of ethnic cleansing and terror is
permitted to resume under the very eyes of the verification mission, in the
harsh conditions of mid-winter.
Decisive steps must now be taken to make it clear to Milosevic regime that
it cannot pursue its brutal policy, in violation of clear commitments,
without restraint and with impunity.
Otherwise the international effort in Kosova is doomed.
The hostilities must be terminated immediately, the heavy FRY forces must
be withdrawn from Kosova territory, there must be immediate humanitarian
access and the investigators from the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia must be permitted to operate without restraint.
These latest outrages also highlight the urgency with which genuine
attempts to achieve an overall settlement to the question of Kosova must
now be pursued. It must now be clear that the initiative proposed by
Ambassador Hill cannot form the basis for a settlement, inasmuch as it has
failed to attract the support of any of the parties to this conflict. The
Government of the Republic of Kosova, for its part, remains eager and
willing for real negotiations to commence, once the FRY has complied with
the mandatory demands of the United Nations Security Council.
The Government of the Republic of Kosova remains willing to start immediate
cooperation with an International Implementation Commission, to ensure
compliance with these mandatory demands by all sides. Once compliance has
been certified, international mediated negotiations between Kosova and FRY
can commence in Geneva or at another appropriate venue outside former
Yugoslavia. The American leading role in this process is indispensable.
The Government of the Republic of Kosova has already made public the
principles that will guide its delegation in such negotiations.
These principles were formulated in a constructive spirit, which does not
seek to impose preconditions upon the talks which must now begin without
further delay."
Kosova Information Center
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