Kosova Daily Report #1658, 99-01-09
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1658
Prishtina, 9 January 1999
First Edition: 12:30 CET
Second Edition: 14:00 CET
Third Edition: 17:00 CET
CONTENTS
[01] Serbian Army Poised to Launch New Offensive in North Kosova
[02] Serbian Military Pounds Half a Dozen Podujeva Villages with Artillery
[03] Serbian Military Launches New Offensive against Podujeva Villages
[04] Serbian Troops Have Retaken Last Summer's Combat Positions in Kosova
[05] Three Albanians Killed, Four Wounded in Serb Attack in Suhareka on
Friday
[06] Young Albanian Killed in Unsolved Circumstances in Istog Area
[01] Serbian Army Poised to Launch New Offensive in North Kosova
* Heavy Serbian military and police forces, backed up by scores of tanks
and other artillery pieces, building up in northern Kosova, in the Llapi
and Shal& e Bajgor&s regions; * Around 11:30 hrs today, automatic weapons
fire was reported heard in the Podujeva area and a barrage of heavy guns
fire was reported from the direction of Obran^& village, a couple of km
west of Podujeva;
PRISHTINA, Jan 9 (KIC) - Heavy Serbian military and police forces, backed
up by scores of tanks and other artillery pieces, have been building up
today in northern Kosova, along the Prishtina-Podujeva road, between the
villages of Lluzhan and Llapashtic&, some 12 km long, and Podujeva-K&rpimeh,
some 10 more km northwards, local sources said.
Meanwhile, yesterday and today, heavy Serb military troops have been
building up in the roads leading to Shal& e Bajgor&s - a region straddling
Mitrovica, Vushtrri, and Podujeva - where U^K (Kosova Liberation Army)
units yesterday took prisoner eight Serb (Yugoslav) soldiers who had been
shooting in the direction of the local Albanian population.
Huge Serb military troops were heading from Prishtina northwards to
Podujeva today. At 10:00 a.m, a column of Serb vehicles, including 17 army
tanks, 3 armored vehicles and 7 lorryloads of soldiers, alongside with 3
police armored vehicles, and 7 lorryloads of police and 7 APCs, were seen
at Vranidoll village, on the Prishtina-Podujeva road, heading north.
Early morning today, at 5 a.m., 15 Serb vehicles trailing artillery pieces
and full of Serbs soldiers left Mitrovica for Stari T&rg.
Heavy combined Serb military and police forces have been reported deployed
in the other communications link leading to the villages of the Shal& e
Bajgor&s region, at Smrekovnic& of Vushtrri.
Around 11:30 hrs today, automatic weapons fire was reported heard in the
Podujeva area and a barrage of heavy guns fire was reported from the
direction of Obran^& village, a couple of km west of Podujeva.
Meanwhile, local sources said Serb police forces stationed in Podujeva area
engaged in heavy shooting against Albanian villages for half an hour Friday
evening, from 20:00 through 20:30 hrs. Serb police resumed the shooting at
5:30 a.m. today (Saturday), again lasting for half an hour.
At 10:30 hrs today, Serbian forces entered the town of Podujeva, others
headed north to K&rpimeh village. Ten APCs have been stationed on the town
center. A convoy of Serb tanks was on the move from Podujeva to K&rmipeh
village at the time, LDK sources said.
The LDK chapter in Podujeva said some twenty other Serb tanks, APCs and
other military vehicles headed late in the morning towards the village of
K&rpimeh, 10 km north of Podujeva.
Serb army vehicles have blocked the town center in Podujeva, while the
Podujeva-Prishtina roadway has been blocked too, sources said.
Sources from Mitrovica reported that 11 Serb military tanks and three
lorries trailing heavy guns came from capital Prishtina and left at 11:00
hrs in the direction of Bare, namely Shal& e Bajgor&s region.
Members of the OSCE Kosova Verification Mission (KVM) are reported being
engaged in efforts in Shal& e Bajgor&s to mediate the release of the eight
Serb soldiers took prisoner by the U^K yesterday. The LDK sources in
Mitrovica said KVM was also in Dragobil, Malisheva, talking to the U^K
leadership in a bid to secure the release of the Serb soldiers.
More than 40 Albanians, most of them non-combatants, were killed in two
Serb military offensives in the Podujeva area in September and December of
1998, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Kosova capital, Prishtina, was under a heavy Serb military
and police grip Friday night, with between 300 and 500 soldiers and
policemen keeping Kodra e Diellit and a number of other neighborhoods under
siege for several hours.
[02] Serbian Military Pounds Half a Dozen Podujeva Villages with Artillery
Bradash, Peran, Obran^&, Llapashtic&, Katunisht& and Gllamnik villages
under heavy Serb artillery fire today afternoon
PRISHTINA, Jan 9 (KIC) - An LDK activist in Podujeva told the KIC at 13:40
hrs today (Saturday) heavy Serbian military and paramilitary police troops
backed up by tanks and heavy guns have launched an artillery attack on half
a dozen villages in the Podujeva area, some 30 km north of Prishtina.
Shelling from army tanks is being heard in every couple of minutes, the
activist said, adding that Serbs are pounding Peran, Bradash and parts of
Obran^& and Katunisht& ('Velika Reka') villages from their position at
Peran. From their position at 'Tabet e Llapashtic&s', near the town of
Podujeva, Serbs are attacking parts of Obran^&, Llapashtic& and Gllamnik
villages, west and south-west of Podujeva. Peran and Bradash are situated
half a dozen km north of Podujeva.
Columns of smoke billowing from the Llapashtic& villages can be seen in the
town of Podujeva, where Serb forces have set up a heavy presence, too.
Heavy Serbian military and police forces, backed up by scores of tanks and
other artillery pieces, have been building up today in northern Kosova,
along the Prishtina-Podujeva road, between the villages of Lluzhan and
Llapashtic&, some 12 km long, and Podujeva- K&rpimeh, some 10 more km
northwards, local sources said.
Meanwhile, yesterday and today, heavy Serb military troops have been
building up in the roads leading to Shal& e Bajgor&s - a region straddling
Mitrovica, Vushtrri, and Podujeva - where U^K (Kosova Liberation Army)
units yesterday took prisoner eight Serb (Yugoslav) soldiers, who had been
shooting in the direction of the local Albanian population.
More than 40 Albanians, most of them non-combatants, were killed in two
Serb military offensives in the Podujeva area in September and December of
1998, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Kosova capital, Prishtina, was under a heavy Serb military
and police grip Friday night, with between 300 and 500 soldiers and
policemen keeping Kodra e Diellit and a number of other neighborhoods under
siege for several hours.
[03] Serbian Military Launches New Offensive against Podujeva Villages
PRISHTINA, Jan 9 (KIC) - Serbian military and paramilitary police troops,
backed up by scores of tanks and other heavy weaponry, launched early
afternoon today (Saturday) an attack against the villages of Bradash, Peran,
Obran^&, Llapashtic&, Gllamnik and the outlying areas in the municipality
of Podujeva, around 30 km north of capital Prishtina.
Serbian forces have been engaged in heavy shelling, local sources said.
There has been no immediate word on the consequences of the unfolding Serb
offensive operation. Still unconfirmed sources speak of killed and wounded
in the village of Peran.
Around 15:00 hrs, automatic weapons fire was reported in the town of
Podujeva itself, which saw a buildup of Serbian forces earlier in the day.
Around 16:00 hrs, the KIC learned that some Serb tanks had been moved from
the Podujeva - K&rpimeh roadway to 'Tabet e Llapashtic&s', a couple of km
south-west of Podujeva. This may indicate Serb forces will concentrate on
attacking Llapashtic& village, where U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) has
positions, too.
Yet, heavy Serb forces continue being stationed along the Podujeva -
K&rpimeh roadway, and they were still attacking at 16:00 hrs today, the KIC
learned.
Heavy Serbian military and police forces, backed up by scores of tanks and
other artillery pieces, built up today morning in northern Kosova, along
the Prishtina-Podujeva road, between the villages of Lluzhan and
Llapashtic&, some 12 km long, and Podujeva- K&rpimeh, some 10 more km
northwards, local sources said.
Meanwhile, yesterday and today, heavy Serb military troops have been
building up in the roads leading to Shal& e Bajgor&s - a region straddling
Mitrovica, Vushtrri, and Podujeva - where U^K (Kosova Liberation Army)
units yesterday took prisoner eight Serb (Yugoslav) soldiers, who had been
shooting in the direction of the local Albanian population.
The release of the Serb soldiers has been cited as a reason for the Serbian
offensive, but the fact is the Serbs had been taken prisoner in Mitrovica
area, not in the Podujeva, Llapi region, area.
More than 40 Albanians, most of them non-combatants, were killed in two
Serb military offensives in the Podujeva area in September and December of
1998, respectively.
The OSCE verifiers in Podujeva area were ordered by the KVM headquarters in
Prishtina to withdraw from the ground as it seemed a Serb offensive
operation was imminent around midday.
The Serb side was said to have issued an ultimatum for Serb soldiers, took
prisoner by the U^K, to be released by 16:00 hrs today. The Serb shelling
of the Llapi region's villages started three hours earlier, though.
The local LDK officials in Podujeva called for international action to
secure the withdrawal of Serbian forces from the area. They said there was
a huge Albanian refugee population in the villages, in the aftermath of the
last Serb offensive launched two weeks ago today, on Christmas Eve.
The Prishtina-Podujeva road has been blocked today.
Meanwhile, reports from Malisheva, central Kosova, said the U.S. KDOM head,
Shaun Burns, was talking with the U^K leadership in a bid to secure the
release of the Serbian soldiers. The meeting was held in Dragobil village,
and by 15:00 o'clock the outcome of the talks was not known. The U^K was
pressured upon to release the Serbs. The U^K itself demanded that its own
soldiers, took prisoner by the Serb army at the Kosova-Albania border, be
released in return, local sources told the KIC.
OSCE mission blames "irresponsible acts by KLA" "KVM (Kosova Verification
Mission) wishes to state that irresponsible actions by the KLA (U^K) since
yesterday morning are the main reasons for a considerable increase of
tension in Kosovo", the OSCE KVM said in a press release today (Saturday).
The U^K refused to release the eight Yugoslav soldiers taken prisoner by it
yesterday, "although an undertaking to release them was given late on
January 8th, 1999", the KVM said in the press release.
"KVM wishes to make it clear that it finds the reaction by Yugoslav
authorities to these KLA provocations has been up to this point very
restrained. The representatives of the Yugoslavian authorities have shown a
willingness to co-operate in this present situation.", the OSCE KVM press
release concluded.
The KIC obtained this press release by fax at 13:59 hrs. The Serbian
shelling in the Podujeva area had started an hour earlier, according to
local Albanian sources.
[04] Serbian Troops Have Retaken Last Summer's Combat Positions in Kosova
PRISHTINA, Jan 9 (KIC) - Huge Serbian forces have reclaimed all their main
combat positions of the last summer, such as the Kryqi i Belincit (in
Shtime area), Podi i G&shtenjave (in De^an area), and Gryka e Carralev&s,
local sources indicate.
The Milosevic-Holbrooke agreement in mid-October had resulted in some Serb
forces being withdrawn to Serbia and others to their permanent bases in
Kosova.
In the past several weeks, however, fresh Serbian troops have been returned
to Kosova, and others in Kosova itself posted in the fields, such as
Podujeva, for instance.
Heavy convoys of Serbian military and police forces, in full armor, travel
Kosova roads on a daily basis.
Prishtina, the Kosova capital, was under a heavy Serb military and police
grip Friday night, with between 300 and 500 soldiers and policemen keeping
Kodra e Diellit and a number of other neighborhoods under siege for several
hours. They were concentrated in the area near the students dormitories and
on the Dragodan neighborhood main road.
Meanwhile, armed Serb civilians, sometimes in open collusion with the
Serbian police, have been barricading roads in Kosova and ill- treating
Albanians.
The German Ambassador to Belgrade, Wilfried Gruber, was held hostage by
armed Serb civilians near Gra^anica yesterday, Serb daily Blic reported.
The British ambassador to Belgrade, Brian Donnelly, was likewise barred by
armed Serb civilians from travelling to Prishtina yesterday.
[05] Three Albanians Killed, Four Wounded in Serb Attack in Suhareka on
Friday
Fifty shells landed in the village of Sllapuzhan, where most of the
casualties occurred
PRISHTINA, Jan 9 (KIC) - Three Albanians were killed and four wounded as a
result of attacks by Serbian forces against Suhareka villages yesterday
(Friday).
The LDK chapter in Suhareka said a six-year-old girl, Kujtes& Buty^i (6),
died as a result of wounds sustained from ricochet in her native village of
Sllapuzhan yesterday, whereas Feim Garip Badallaj, resident of Sallagrazhd&,
was found killed in his native village. Of wounds received in his native
village of Sllapuzhan, Osman Nezir Byty^i (65) died today.
Four Albanians were wounded in yesterday's Serb onslaught: Isak Fetah Hoxha
(42), resident of Bllac&, as well as Bajram Zeqir Byty^i (18), Fatime Qamil
Elshani (f, 60) and Zade Gashi-Byty^i (f, 55), all of them residents of
Sllapuzhan village.
LDK sources said 50 shells landed in the village of Sllapuzhan yesterday.
The population fled again this village, which had been shattered in the
Serb summer offensives.
The Serbian shelling of Albanian villages was apparently in retribution for
the killing of three Serb policemen near Suhareka earlier in the day on
Friday.
A grave situation has been reported in the town of Suhareka today
(Saturday). Heavy detonations were heard at 9:40 a.m. today. No details
have been made available.
Only Serb forces and armed civilians have been roaming the town streets.
The majority Albanian population has chosen to stay indoors in this
explosive situation.
[06] Young Albanian Killed in Unsolved Circumstances in Istog Area
PRISHTINA, Jan 9 (KIC) - Rifat Blakaj (20), resident of Trubuhovc village
of Istog, in northwest Kosova, has been killed in yet unsolved
circumstances.
The young Albanian's family said Rifat left his home on Tuesday, 7 January,
and went to the town of Istog for a bicycle repair. His bicycle has been
found on the Prekall& upland, on the Gjurakovc- Peja road.
The family had launched a search operation of its own, before actually
being told by the Serb police that Rifat Blakaj was found killed in the
village of Drenoc, municipality of Klina, and that his body had been taken
to the Peja town morgue.
The Albanian had two gunshot wounds, in his left chest and under the jaw,
and his two eyes damaged and lesions in his face and hands, local sources
said.
At least ten Albanians have been shot dead in unsolved circumstances in
different parts of Kosova in the last ten days.
Kosova Information Center
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