Kosova Daily Report #1700, 99-02-22

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

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1700
Prishtina, 22 February 1999

CONTENTS

[01] Serb Forces Mount Heavy Attack against Four Villages of Vushtrri, North-west of Prishtina Monday Morning

[02] Serb Forces Attack Villages of Llapashtia and Burica, Northern Kosova

[03] Serb Police Transfers Forty Albanian Inmates from Lipjan Jail to Unknown Location

[04] Father and Son Killed in Front of House by Unidentified Gunmen

[05] Identity of Two Albanians, Found Dead near Suhareka on Sunday, Established

[06] Serbs Beat Up Two OSCE Verifiers at Kosova-Serbia Border

[01] Serb Forces Mount Heavy Attack against Four Villages of Vushtrri, North-west of Prishtina Monday Morning

At around 9:00, Serb forces began pounding from tanks and artillery pieces the villages of Dolak, Shtitarica, Okrashtica and Pantina, witnesses told the KIC.

Serb troops backed up with heavy armament were garrisoned since early morning hours in several places in the area, including the villages of Bukosh and Novolan.

The local population began fleeing the ares, heading mainly in the direction of the town of Vushtrri and the villages westward.

The CCN described the Serb crackdown as the heaviest to have been launched against Albanian settlements in Kosova this year. However, after a couple of hours the Serb shelling died out with sporadic shooting from automatic weapons heard in the area.

There has been no immediate word about the reason of the today's offensive of the Serb forces against Vushtrri villages. Nor have been reports about possible casualties.

The LDK chapter in Vushtrri said many fleeing Albanians were maltreated brutally on their way to Vushtrri, at a location called Ura e Gurit (the Stone Bridge).

Several Albanians were reported arrested and taken to the Serb police station in Vushtrri. The LDK information commission said it could learn the names of some of them, including Jahush Pllana, Lulzim Pllana, Shefki Meholli and Adnan Meholli, all residents of Shtitarica village.

[02] Serb Forces Attack Villages of Llapashtia and Burica, Northern Kosova

The LDK chapter in Podujeva said the two villages were shelled for over forty minutes from a location called Tebet e Llapashtic&s.

The two villages came under a second attack at around 12.30. A lower intensity attacks has continued until mid-afternoon.

There has been no immediate report about possible casualties.

Meanwhile, sources told the KIC that there has been a robust and rapid buildup of Serb forces on the near the Kosova-Serbia border around the village P&rpellac. There has been no report about their movement towards Kosova.

[03] Serb Police Transfers Forty Albanian Inmates from Lipjan Jail to Unknown Location

The KIC sources in Lipjan, 20 km south of Prishtina, were unable to learn anything about the whereabouts of the Albanian inmates.

Fidajete Limaj from Banja village of Malisheva, told the KIC today that she had made inquires about her brother Demir Limaj at the Serb police authorities in Lipjan but failed to learn anything ababouts him.

Amongst the inmates removed from the Lipjan jail on Sunday night were Bislim Zogaj, from Komoran (Gllogovc) and Ali Gjyliq, from Maralia (Malisheva), both political prisoners.

[04] Father and Son Killed in Front of House by Unidentified Gunmen

Sources in the town said unidentified gunmen in two cars without plate number stopped in front of the Loku family, called the family head to come out, and opened fire on Gafurr Loku (50) and his son Driton Loku once they walked out of the house.

[05] Identity of Two Albanians, Found Dead near Suhareka on Sunday, Established

PRISHTINA, Feb 22 (KIC) - The Prishtina-based Kosova Sot daily caried in its today's issue the names of two Albanians whose bodies were found Sunday morning near the village of Gjinoc, Suhareka municipality.

The newspaper named them as Petrit Muhamet Byty^it (29) and Sylejman Nazim Rrotlla (25), both resident of Prizren.The bodies of the two murdered Albanians were taken by the Serb police to the town morgue in Prizren.

A couple of villages in the Suhareka municipality, 50 km southwest of Prishtina came under a fierce Serb forces attack on Saturday afternoon.

The LDK chapter in Suhareka described today the situation in the area as highly volatile. At around 10:00 today, a Serb police patrol driving on the Prizren-Suhareka road opened machine-gun fire in the direction of an Albanian Bajram J. Ku^i. The house was riddled with bullets but, luckily, there were no casualties.

Ar around midday the Serb forces pounded with machine gun fire for over half an hours the village of Reshtan.

[06] Serbs Beat Up Two OSCE Verifiers at Kosova-Serbia Border

Sources said the two verifiers, from Luxembourg and Lithuania, were assaulted by two armed persons who got off a bus at a place called Rudare.

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