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Saturday, Feb. 27, 1999, 6:30 PM.
Negotiators Hill and Petrisch will arrive in Prishtina
Prishtinė, February 27 (Kosovapress)
Cristopher Hill and Wolfgang Petrisch, mediators in Albanian-Serb negotiations, will
arrive on Monday in Prishtina and meet with Kosovan Albanian representatives. Later on the
week, they will try to meet with members of the Serbian Government Delegation. Hill and
Petrisch are not planing to sit and wait for the15-th of March to arrive, they will
continue to work with determination, diplomatic sources have said.
Parts of the village Dubovc of Drenica is being shelled
Vushtrri, February 27 (Kosovapress)
Serbian forces positioned near the village of Bukosh, Vushttri, are shelling the quarter
Zuēka of Dubovc village, in Drenicė. This quarter was shelled yesterday afternoon also.
Some of the shells have fallen in the village of Galicė, the move that has created panic
amongst the villagers.
Serbian reinforcements have arrived near by the village Prekazi i Epėrm along the
Mitrovicė-Skenderaj road.
Shelling continues against the villages on the foothill of
Qyqavica and in the Shala of Bajgora
Vushtrri, February 27 (Kosovapress)
Today, for the third day in a row, Serbian Military forces are continuing to shell, using
heavy artillery and rocket launchers, the villages of Okrashticė, Pantinė, Licej,
Oshlan, Taraxhė, Galicė and Lubavec.
Heavy fighting continued all night, last night. There are not known human casualties as
yet. Humanitarian situation is very difficult. Thousands of villagers have fled, the
villages under attack, and a good number of them is forced to spend the night out under
the open sky.
Two killed in Vaganic
Mitrovicė, February 27 (Kosovapress)
On the eve of yesterday, Serbian Army, positioned in the village of Frashėr i Vogėl,
shelled and opened machine-gun fire against the villages Pantinė and Oshlan of Vushtrri
and Vaganicė e Poshtme, Vganicė e Epėrme, Vernicė and Pirq of Mitrovicė. Serb
civilians armed with snipers have killed two annd wounded one Albanian from the village
Vaganiė e Poshtme. It is thought that the dead bodies were taken by Serbian police.
The dead body of an unidentified person was found near the
Batllava Lake
Llap, February 27 (Kosovapress)
Today, in the OZ of Llap it was highly tensed atmosphere. Since the early hours of today,
Serbian forces stationed in the Airport of Dumosh, have started moving towards Lluzhan and
later on along the Podujevė-Prishtinė road.
Similar movements were detected form their positions in the Tabet e Llapashticės towards
Godishnjak and Majac. At around 08.45, from Tabet e Llapashticės, Serbs started to attack
Llapashtica. Our units replied to these attacks, forcing the enemy into a retreat.
In the vicinity of the Batllava Lake, the dead body of an, still, unidentified person was
found. OSCE Verifiers went on that spot and so did large forces of Serbian military and
police.
Walker in the OZ of Pashtrik
Malishevė, February 27 (Kosovapress)
Tonight Mr William Walker, Chief of Verifying Mission in Kosova, will visit the Command of
Pashtrik’s Operative Zone of the KLA. He will discuss the idea of demilitarisation,
of Malishevė and surroundings, with Commandant Drini.
New barricades around the police stationing points
Istog, 27 February (ARTA) 1700CET --
Intensive movements of Serb police forces, continue in the villages of Anadrin, such as
Zabllaq, Prekallė, Trubuhovė, Saradran of the Vrellė and Rakosh region. Meanwhile, new
barricades were set around the police stationing points in Rakosh, Cerkolez, Lubozhdė....
New cases of mistreatment near these checkpoints are reported every day. Such is the case
of Ramadan Tafilaj (46) from Rakosh, who was brutally beaten at the Rakosh post command.
Serb snipers posted in town buildings
Suharekė, 27 February (ARTA) 1840CET --
Serb police\military forces, continue moving and regrouping in the Suharekė region, local
information sources in Suharekė notify.
The Serb police\military forces are settled in all the points from where the offensives
against this municipality, were carried out last year.
The largest concentration of the Serb police is in two main points of town, at the place
called Bodrumi i Verės (Wine Cellar) and the "Ballkan" hotel.
Clinton and Solana Warn Belgrade over Kosova
PRISHTINA, Feb 27 (KIC) - U.S. President Bill Clinton, in an address in San Francisco,
California, laying out a broad outline of his foreign policy, speaking about Kosova said
on Friday: "[FRY] President Milosevic should understand that this is a time for
restraint, not repression. And if he does not, NATO is prepared to act." In his
speech to three public affairs groups, Mr. Clinton made a case for continued U.S.
involvement in preventing regional conflicts. He underlined the United States has a clear
national interest in ensuring that the crisis in Kosova, which is where all began at the
beginning of the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, ends now.
Both sides "must return to the negotiations (in France) on March the 15th with a
clear mandate for peace," the US President said. "Serbia's leaders must now
accept that only by allowing people in Kosovo control over their day-to-day lives ... can
they keep their country intact," he said.
President Clinton said progress had been made in Rambouillet, during the 17 days of talks,
on the understanding that Kosova should enjoy substantial autonomy, and praized Secretary
Albright for her tireless work in the negotiations.
If the agreement on an interim settlement for Kosova is approved, NATO should deploy
troops, including American ones, to implement it, Clinton said.
Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger told reporters NATO
Secretary-General Javier Solana could draw
on previously granted authority to halt Serbian military aggression against ethnic
Albanians, Reuters reported.
"Certainly we think that if during this period (before peace talks resume), there
were significant military action on the part of the Serb government, that that authority
should be used. And I believe that's a view of most of the allies," Berger said.
Mr. Solana, speaking on Spanish television, said NATO would not permit a Serbian
offensive.
Serbian Forces Kill Two and Wound One Albanian in Randobravė
Village, Prizren
PRISHTINA, Feb 27 (KIC) - Serbian police forces cracked down on a number of villages in
the municipality of Prizren yesterday (Friday). Reports said Serbian forces killed at
least two Albanians, wounded a third one, and abducted several others.
Having passed through Piranė and Mamushė villages, Serbian forces advanced into the
village of Randobravė. They killed Abdyl Binak Pajaziti (21), who was driving his car
when he encountered them.
Then Serbs entered the house of Muhamet Kabashi (65), killing him and wounding his wife,
Mihrijen, who has been taken to the Prizren hospital.
Serbian forces abducted yesterday half a dozen Albanians, whose names have not been made
known yet.
The two killed Albanians are to be buried today (Saturday).
Part of the population of the area fled their homes yesterday.
The Serb forces involved in the raids in Randobravė headed today towards Rahovec
villages, local sources said.
A heavy presence of Serbian troops and heavy weapons has been reported in the border
villages in the municipality of Prizren.
As soon as dark sets in, Serbian troops start provoking Albanian families in the village
of Gorozhup.
Serbian Police Shoots and Wounds Albanian in Klina Village
PRISHTINA, Feb 27 (KIC) - Serbian police shot and wounded today Osman Morina (36) and
arrested his brother Salih Morina in their native village of Rigjevė, municipality of
Klina, local LDK sources said. Tensions run high in the villages as well as in the
municipality as a whole, as Serbian military and police forces and armed civilians roam
the streets of the administrative center, Klina.
530 Displaced Kosovars Cross to Macedonia
PRISHTINA, Feb 27 (KIC) - Over 530 residents, mostly elderly, women and children from the
border village of Gorancė crossed the border yesterday to Jazhincė village, on the
Macedonian side of the border, Rilindja daily reported. They had fled the previous day and
had spent the night in the open in the mountains before being spotted by UNPREDEP troops
in FYROM. They were driven in armoured cars to border villages, mostly to Jazhincė,
Rilindja said.
Albanian Leaders Invited to D.C
By Barry Schweid AP Diplomatic Writer Friday, February 26, 1999; 2:25 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Clinton administration is inviting chief Kosovar Albanian
negotiator Hashim Thaci and other leaders of the secession movement in Kosova to
Washington to try to secure a settlement of their conflict with the Serbs.
The partial accord concluded on Tuesday at Rambouillet, France, gave the ethnic Albanians
two weeks to consider the deal and to sell it to the people in the predominantly Albanian
province.
Two senior U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration
wanted to improve the Kosovar Albanians' ``comfort level'' with discussion of how the plan
for self-rule, but not independence, would be implemented.
Of particular concern to the ethnic Albanians is the future of the Kosova Liberation Army,
which has fought a yearlong war for secession against Serb troops.
The insurgents are to be disarmed, while most of the Serb troops and special police units
are withdrawn from Kosova. Many of the fighters are eligible to be absorbed into a local
police force, provided they qualify.
``The idea is to tell them to understand they can still exist,'' said one of the two
officials.
There was no word from Thaci and the others on whether they would accept the invitation
and when the Washington talks might be held.
The Serbs, meanwhile, have not accepted various parts of the self-rule plan or a NATO
peacekeeping force of some 28,000 troops, including about 4,000 Americans.
Negotiations are due to resume March 15 in France.
Administration officials expressed concern Thursday that both sides in the Kosova dispute
would use the recess to fortify their military positions.
The officials warned Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that airstrikes still were a
possibility, and they urged the Kosova Albanian side to ``show restraint or risk losing
NATO support.''
``The threat of force remains in effect,'' Deputy Defense Undersecretary Walter Slocombe
told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
``If Belgrade were foolish enough to attack the KLA in some deluded effort to destroy the
insurgency before an agreement took effect, Belgrade would meet with strong NATO military
action,'' he said.
By the same token, Slocombe said, Kosova's independence-minded ethnic Albanian and the
Kosova Liberation Army must show restraint or risk losing NATO's support.
At a House International Relations Committee hearing, Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright was asked by Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman, R-N.Y., whether there was an exit
strategy for the U.S. peacekeepers.
``In Kosova, we learned a lesson, I think, from Bosnia -- or many lessons. One is not to
wait as long as we did to do something. And the second is not to set an artificial
deadline for exit,'' Albright said.
Clinton initially assured Congress U.S. peacekeeping troops sent to Bosnia in late 1995
would be home within a year, but the mission is continuing today. There are about 6,700
U.S. troops in Bosnia, down from more than 22,000 at one point.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services panel, said he hoped that
Congress could work with the administration in the coming weeks ``in a unified way'' in
hopes of not undermining diplomacy designed to get both sides back to the peace table.
He urged Republicans and Democrats alike to support the administration.
But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., asserted: ``We have witnessed another major failure of
diplomacy as U.S. and NATO-imposed deadlines have passed without commitments from either
side.''
Kosova Tensions Rise, Monitors Held At Border
By Deborah Charles
PRISTINA, Serbia (Reuters) - Tension mounted in Kosova Friday, as Yugoslav security forces
deployed troops and armored equipment and several international monitors were prevented
from coming from Macedonia into the Serb province.
Eight employees of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were
forced to spend the night in their cars after being prevented from entering Kosova, said
Beatrice Lacoste, spokeswoman for the OSCE's Kosova Verification Mission. Negotiations for
their release were continuing.
International monitors said army and police troops were out in force around the central
Suva Reka area, where the KVM managed to defuse a potentially violent standoff Thursday.
``There is a large build up of Serb troops and artillery,'' a KVM monitor said. ``There
are tanks, APCs (armored personnel carriers) and extra security forces deployed.'' The
area, where the KVM managed to persuade ethnic Albanian guerrillas not to attack a police
patrol Thursday, is just a few kilometers away from Studencane, where fighting erupted
Saturday, forcing thousands to flee their homes.
A similar situation was reported around Vucitrn in northern Kosova where sporadic fighting
has flared over the past week.
Thursday, tank, heavy machine gun, mortar and small arms fire broke out in the north of
the province after the security forces deployed the full range of their heavy artillery in
what they called a ``winter training exercise.''
An aid agency official said Friday four ethnic Albanians had been wounded in Thursday's
gunfire exchanges around Bukos.
Lacoste said three OSCE vehicles carrying international monitors had been refused entry
into Kosova from Macedonia Thursday night.
A fourth vehicle, which came from Pristina with customs officials to negotiate their
release, was also prevented from leaving the border area.
The OSCE said two OSCE vehicles had been stopped by customs guards on the Yugoslav side of
the border after crossing through the police checkpoint.
They demanded to check the car and a British monitor refused, on the grounds the OSCE
vehicles were granted diplomatic immunity. A third vehicle came across later and was
prevented from crossing into the Serbian province of Kosova.
``This is against the Vienna convention, the vehicles have diplomatic immunity,'' an OSCE
spokesman said.
He said the OSCE employees, including three international verifiers, were blocked in by
other vehicles.
``They were also intimidated by civilians who arrived armed with AK 47s and went into the
customs building. They left without their guns,'' he said.
Lacoste said negotiations for their release were still continuing. Efforts overnight to
contact Yugoslav officials who deal with the OSCE were unsuccessful.
The ethnic Albanian-run Kosova Information Center said Friday fighting had broken out in
some villages near the Macedonian border, forcing residents to flee. It could not be
independently confirmed.
Ethnic Albanians Seek Consensus amid KLA Split
PRISHTINA (Reuters) - Ethnic Albanians involved in Kosova peace talks began trying Friday
to rally people behind a political settlement for the province which threatens to split
the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA).
Members of the ethnic Albanian negotiating team, who returned from peace talks in France
Thursday after giving cautious approval to an autonomy plan, said the deal was key to
ending nearly a year of fighting.
"The interim agreement is aimed at stopping the bloodshed in Kosova and making its
institutions function ... as well as opening up prospects for Kosova and its people,"
said Ibrahim Rugova, the leader of the Democratic League of Kosova who was elected
'president' by Kosova's ethnic Albanian community.
About 2,000 people have been killed and more than 200,000 left homeless by the fighting
between Serb security forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas over the past year.
Rugova, a popular figure in the West for his advocacy of non-violent protests, said the
deal was the only way to ensure the international community would help protect the people.
"We want the agreement to be signed as soon as possible and NATO troops deployed as
soon as possible to provide security for all people of Kosova and the region," he
told reporters, using the Albanian name for Kosova.
The agreement, an accompanying plan to establish a provisional government, drew an
immediate outcry from hard-liner Adem Demaci, who said as political representative of the
KLA he should have been consulted.
Demaci boycotted the peace talks and tried to convince the KLA rebels not to attend.
In an interview published Friday in the Kosova Sot newspaper, Demaci threatened to split
from the rebel group if it carried through with the plans.
"If the KLA and the general headquarters make that mistake and accept it I will
separate myself and I will go my own way," he said. "But so far I have the
support of the general headquarters and of the KLA commanders."
The ethnic Albanian delegates, who came under intense international pressure in France to
back the autonomy plan, said they would have to consult others in Kosova before signing
up.
One of the conditions of the political agreement is that NATO peacekeeping troops be
deployed, a move Belgrade has pledged to resist.
KLA representatives who took part in the talks said since they could not achieve their
ultimate goal -- the promise of a referendum of independence for Kosova -- they had to
return to the people to get approval for the deal before signing.
"We did not want to decide in favor without consulting the people, experts,
intellectuals and the KLA," KLA spokesman Jakup Krasnici said upon his return.
"We hope the people of Kosova will realize their aspirations for freedom and
independence in the future, through organization and unity among military and political
forces of Kosova," he was quoted by Koha Ditore's English-language newspaper as
saying.
While in France, Rugova, the KLA and the leader of the United Democratic Movement all
signed an agreement to form a government with a KLA prime minister and a mandate to rule
until elections were held in the province.
Koha Ditore cited delegation member Hydajet Hyseni as saying Krasnici was the one expected
to become prime minister. But he said the issue would be decided later.
Demaci said the delegates in France had a mandate to negotiate a peace deal, not form a
new government.
"All those things were done against our recommendations," he told Kosova Sot.
Demaci said the KLA's armed resistance would continue and the rebels would work on a new
project with new people under KLA direction to be the main political and military force in
Kosova.
"Now we will see what happens next. I think that nothing good will happen on March
15. This is a failed project."
The ethnic Albanians and Serb delegates have a March 15 deadline for a second round of
peace talks.
Demaci condemned the overall agreement.
"I am against the international elements who are trying to fool us by imposing on us
a false autonomy which would continue the bloodshed and the slavery of the Albanians and
would not solve the problem but would postpone it for some time," he said.
Fifth Day Of Kosova Clashes Bring New Refugee Wave
By Kurt Schork
LICEJ (Reuters) - Hundreds of ethnic Albanians fled the village of Licej in northern
Kosova overnight as Yugoslav armoured forces consolidated their positions in surrounding
hills, witnesses said Friday.
Sporadic small arms, machine-gun, and anti-aircraft fire echoed across the snow-covered
hills west of Vucitrn, about 40 km (25 miles) north of the regional capital Pristina.
It was the fifth day of clashes in the area between government troops and separatist
ethnic Albanian guerrillas.
Yugoslav troops, who occupied the village of Bukos Thursday, were cutting branches and
saplings to camouflage tanks and armoured personnel carriers that have been dug into
frozen fields and tucked behind haystacks in barn yards.
Tents and field telephones were being installed in what the army has termed a ``winter
field exercise.''
International monitors in the Kosova Verification Mission (KVM) reckoned the army aimed to
push the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas out of a string of villages west of
Vucitrn and drive them into the woods at the base of the Cicavia massif.
``The army pushed the KLA out of Bukos Thursday. They are consolidating their positions
and we think they will continue moving west,'' a KVM monitor in the area Friday said.
The village of Licej was deserted except for a few ethnic Albanian men guarding their
property with an eye on the ridge line to the east where Yugoslav armor could be heard
moving.
``All the women and children left last night or early this morning around four a.m. (0300
GMT),'' said 60-year old Hasim Voca outside his family compound in Licej.
``I'm here just to take care of my animals as long as I can. I'll run away too if I have
to.''
Villagers had fled in such haste that they left cars parked in yards and laundry on
clothes lines that had frozen overnight.
The United Nations believes at least 4,000 ethnic Albanians have been displaced by
fighting in the hills west of Vucitrn this week.
``We're from Doljane, south of Bukos. Everyone's left there now except a few old men and
women,'' said 47-year-old Zoja Miftari, walking with another woman, four children and an
infant swaddled against the cold along an empty road toward Vucitrn.
``There are too many tanks and troops around, something bad is bound to happen,'' she
said.
The KVM says the security forces have been seriously provoked in the Vucitrn area by KLA
guerrillas who have taken advantage of an October truce to occupy positions they vacated
and terrorize Serb civilians in mixed villages like Bukos.
Serb police swept through the area Monday, destroying a number of homes and driving out
civilians. That evening three Serb men in Bukos were shot and one of them killed,
apparently in retaliation for the day's event.
By Friday morning a week of clashes had left one man dead and seven wounded, including
five Serbian policemen. A journalist was also wounded. KLA sources said five guerrillas
had been wounded, including one Thursday.
The KLA zone commander for the area, Raman Rama, told Reuters Friday the previous day's
fighting started when Yugoslav army forces advanced to within 50 meters (yards) of KLA
positions east of Bukos.
``They say they are on field maneuvers, but what army do you know that goes on maneuvers
during a war?'' he said. ``Obviously they are looking to attack our positions, to push us
back.''
Kosova Rebels, Serbs Defy NATO
By Misha Savic Associated Press Writer Friday, February 26, 1999; 10:11 a.m. EST
PRISHTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Ethnic Albanians fled villages on tractor-pulled trailers by
the dozens to escape new fighting and a buildup of Serb forces today, despite NATO
warnings to both sides to refrain from violence during a recess in peace talks.
Mortar fire resounded in northern Kosova in what apparently was a second day of clashes in
the Bukos area between the Yugoslav army and rebel forces.
Serb police blocked roads into the area, but humanitarian aid workers said they saw about
30 Yugoslav tanks and armored cars in the area. Four tanks were poised at the edge of the
village of Nevoljane, about 15 miles northwest of the capital Pristina.
Field workers for the U.N. refugee agency said four civilians were wounded by shrapnel and
bullets Thursday in the village of Ljubovec.
NATO and Western officials are concerned about the new fighting and the massing of
Yugoslav and Serb forces and are trying to hold both sides to a cease-fire during a 2
1/2-week suspension in peace talks.
The U.S. Defense Department says Yugoslavia has deployed 4,500 troops on the border of the
separatist-minded province in southern Serbia, backed by tanks, artillery, and armored
personnel carriers.
``What frightens me and worries me is that these weeks are taken advantage of for the
purpose of conflict rather than for consolidation'' of steps toward a peace deal, NATO
Secretary-General Javier Solana said today.
He told Spain's Channel 9 TV that there would be punitive airstrikes on Serb targets
``only if absolutely necessary ... and always in the service of a political objective.''
Fighting in Kosova began almost a year ago when Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic sent
forces to crush a KLA insurrection. More than 2,000 people have died and 300,000 others --
mostly ethnic Albanians -- have been displaced by the fighting.
The new fighting came as ethnic Albanian negotiators returned to Kosova from talks in
Rambouillet, France, which ended this week without substantial agreement on how to bring
lasting peace to the impoverished province in Serbia, the main republic in Yugoslavia.
While the Serbs refused to let NATO troops enforce a peace plan -- a key ingredient to any
deal -- ethnic Albanians agreed to sign a tentative agreement when talks resume March 15
after consulting with KLA commanders back in Kosova.
The top Kosova Albanian political leader reiterated today that his side will make good on
its pledge.
Ibrahim Rugova, the pacifist leader of pro-independence ethnic Albanians, expressed
approval of the agreement -- broad autonomy as an interim solution without formal
secession, combined with NATO troops as an implementing force.
``The agreement will have political and military guarantees for its implementation ... the
guarantees of NATO,'' he said.
While Rugova did not head the Albanian negotiating team in France, he remains an
influential leader among the 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority in Kosova.
But another top Albanian figure, Adem Demaci, called the deal insufficient in an interview
with the Albanian-language daily Kosova Sot.
``The delegates (in France) accepted that Kosova becomes just another district of
Serbia,'' said Demaci, an influential figure who claims to represent most of the KLA
guerrillas.
Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which runs the mission
monitoring an October cease-fire in Kosova, lodged a protest with Belgrade authorities
over what it said was the harassment of two staffers who tried to enter the country from
neighboring Macedonia late Thursday.
OSCE spokesman Walter Ebenberger said the customs officials demanded to search the luggage
and vehicles of two mission members, which was against international conventions on border
procedures for the diplomats. The staffers remained stuck at the border today.
The Head of OSCE KVM William Walker was today in Malisheva
Radio21
The Head of OSCE KVM, William Walker visited Malisheva today. On this occasion he met the
KLA representative Sokol Bashota. They discussed about the grave situation in several
regions of Kosova ascertaining that there is s reasonable fear of deterioration of the
situation after the first phase of the Conference at Rambouillet in France.
Mr. Walker stressed on this occasion that Albanian population requested to avoid the
provocation of Serb forces, whereas KLA political representative Mr. Bashota requested a
wider extenuation of OSCE mission in Kosova.
A correspondence from Mitrovica Grave situation in this town
Our correspondent in Mitrovica, Selatin Kaēaniku informed on large deployment of Serb
military forces on the road which links villages Vaganicė e Ulėt and e Epėrme,
Vėrnicė and Oshlan with the hill of "Bair" quarter. In this action Yugoslav
Army engaged 19 lorries with military cannons, two transporter trucks and one mobile
ambulance. Because of a fear of a uncontrolled attack upon population, residents of above
mentioned villages started to flee their homes to the regions which are considered as
safer, mainly in Mitrovica. The siege lasted until 1:20 p.m.
A correspondence from Gjakova Raid of Albanian private premises
Our correspondent in Gjakova, Arta Zherka informed that Serb police raided several
Albanian private premises with no pretext at all. But, since all these premises were
mainly pool clubs, Albanian sources supposed that they were looking for Albanian youths,
who were displaced from the villages, because the flow of arrests of these youths
continue, which started from December of the last year.
Serbian offensive against the villages of Shala OZ
Shalė, February 25 (Kosovapress) Today afternoon, serbian forces have undertaken a heavy
offensive against some villages of the Shala OZ. To conduct this attack, a large number of
serbian military forces have been engaged consisting of, 30 tanks and other armoured
vehicles, which came from Vushtrria, Mitrovica and Prishtina. Serbian forces are
concentrated in Bair and Frashėr too. From the direction of Lushtė, 3 "Praga"
vehicles, 5 trucks and some "Pitzgauers", have gone towards Shipol. Serbian
forces concentrated in Liqejt are shelling Albanian villages also. However, KLA units are
well reinforced in their positions and are successfully replying to these attacks.
Serb Army Masses 4,500 Armored Troops
By ERIC SCHMITT
WASHINGTON -- The Yugoslav army has massed 4,500 heavily armored troops on the Kosova
border, the Pentagon said Thursday, threatening to undermine the fragile progress toward
ending the conflict there and challenging Washington to enforce an agreement that limits
Yugoslav forces in the rebellious province.
Serb commanders have also moved 60 tanks, 50 armored personnel carriers and 70 artillery
pieces to the Kosova frontier, in positions that would allow a major assault on rebel
fighters, the Pentagon said.
"We don't know why they've moved these troops or exactly what they plan to do with
the troops that they have marshaled around the borders of Kosova," a spokesman for
the Pentagon, Kenneth H. Bacon, said.
But another senior administration official said the buildup was an ominous development
that not only threatened to scuttle additional peace talks between President Slobodan
Milosevsic's government and the ethnic Albanians in Kosova, but also plunge the Clinton
administration and NATO into a new crisis on dealing with a Serb offensive.
Despite the provocative maneuvers, which were made in a hiatus in the negotiations that
are to resume on March 15 in France, the administration backed off its threat to use force
to enforce the troop levels negotiated between the United States and Milosevic in October.
Under that accord, Milosevic agreed to reduce Yugoslav forces in Kosova at least to the
levels of last February. That would have meant reducing the 18,000 Yugoslav army troops
who were there in October to 12,500 and paring the 11,000 Serbian paramilitary police
officers to 6,500.
Asked whether NATO would strike if Yugoslavia poured fresh troops into Kosova in violation
of the accord, Bacon said:
"We will take appropriate and necessary action to protect people from humanitarian
disasters, and we will also take any needed action to promote peace. Beyond that, I don't
want to get into any specifics about hypothetical operations."
When pressed, he added, "The conduct of the troops is much more important than the
numbers of the troops at this stage."
Indeed, Pentagon and State Department officials acknowledged Thursday that Belgrade had
never fully complied with the original force withdrawal. In addition, the Serbs have
deployed about 70 tanks, 70 armored personnel carriers and 50 artillery pieces inside
Kosova.
Bacon said more than two times those forces were in garrisons. Administration officials
said the levels also violated the October accord.
The United States has not publicized the violations or threatened aerial attacks to
enforce the agreement, perhaps fearing that such strikes could wreck the peace
negotiations, administration officials said.
When asked what level of violations would draw a NATO response, Under Secretary of State
Thomas A. Pickering said Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
"I do not want to draw a series of maps with red lines for the Serbs. We need to
avoid that very, very carefully."
Pickering said any Serb violations of the cease-fire pact "would clearly have grave
and substantial risks."
Senate Republicans, in the hearing room and on the Senate floor, attacked the
administration's Kosova policy. "Our troops are very expensive peacekeepers,"
Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma, the Republican whip, said on the floor. "I'm very
concerned we're going to be there a long, long time. I don't see an exit strategy."
Senators' anger was stoked further when Under Secretary of Defense Walter Slocombe told
the committee that if the warring parties reached an agreement, the cost of contributing
4,000 American troops to the 28,000-member NATO peacekeeping force would be $1.5 billion
to $2 billion a year.
The United States has already spent $10 billion to support American forces in Bosnia since
1995, and it is budgeting $2 billion a year for that peacekeeping. Spending an additional
$2 billion a year for another indefinite military mission in Kosova did not go over well
Thursday.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who is on the Armed Services Committee, said: "What
we're dealing with here is another open-ended commitment. Not to say that it doesn't merit
our commitment. But I don't think we are prepared to acknowledge the extent to which we
will have to commit thousands of men and women from our armed forces once again, and
billions more in expenditures for an undetermined period of time."
Administration officials responded that the Kosova crisis threatened stability in Europe,
tested NATO credibility and could undercut the halting progress in Bosnia.
As for deadlines, President Clinton predicted three years ago that American troops would
be out of Bosnia in a year. That did not happen, and his aides are not repeating that
mistake. Instead, they say, progress in Kosova should be measured by milestones like when
security forces withdraw and elections are held.
Shelling of KLA positions in the village of Galicė
Vushtrri, February 25 (Kosovapress) Large number of serbian forces with around 40 armoured
vehicles, arrived today in Bukosh and Novolan of Vushtrria. After they were concentrated
in the suitable positions to attack, they started shelling, using heavy artillery, against
KLA positions in the village of Galicė. In order to escape serb shelling, population that
was evacuated, days ago, from some villages of Vushtrria and settled in Lubovec and
Galicė, had to leave from there too. KLA Formations of the 114-th Brigade "Fehmi
Lladrovci", are holding their positions, and are ready to face enemy attacks.
Kosova Delegation Returns Home, Rambouillet Agreement Called
'Very Important'
PRISHTINA, Feb 25 (KIC) - The delegation of Kosova to the Rambouillet conference, whose
first stage concluded on 23 February, landed in the Prishtina airport around 13:20 hrs
today (Thursday).
The delegation was flown in by a French military airplane.
Three members of the delegation, members of the UĒK (Kosova Liberation Army), were driven
away by international observers.
Ambassador William Walker, head of the OSCE KVM, was also in the airport to welcome the
Kosova delegation.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, the President of the Republic of
Kosova, said there would be consultations in Kosova about the interim agreement before
signing it. "This agreement is a very important event for Kosova, because it will be
an integrated agreement, with political and military components to implement it".
The chairman of the United Democratic Movement (LBD), Rexhep Qosja, said the delegation
worked consensually. "We approved the statement unanimously, and we are now
presenting it to the people".
The agreement has several positive elements, Qosja said. Firstly, it is an agreement for
an interim status for Kosova, during which time democratic, legislative, law enforcement
and independent judiciary institutions will be created. Secondly, in three years' time the
permanent status of Kosova will be determined on the basis of the will of the people of
Kosova, Qosja said. "The Serbian forces will be pulled out during this time, and the
UĒK will be transformed pursuant to an agreement with the United States of America".
On top of this is NATO in Kosova, the LBD leader said, noting that this would mean Kosova
in the West. "I am hopeful Kosova enters the road to independence", Qosja
concluded.
"We have said 'yes', but we want to have that political organizations and the UĒK
have a say also, that the decision-making goes down to the people in every village and
town", Veton Surroi, a member of the Kosova delegation told reporters in the
Prishtina airport.
More than 40 Tanks Deployed in Vushtrri Area, Bukosh Village
Fired On
PRISHTINA, Feb 25 (KIC) - At 9:30 CET today, a convoy of more than 40 Serbian tanks and
other motorized vehicles arrived in the municipality of Vushtrri ('Vucitrn'), local LDK
sources said.
Three tanks were stationed at Stanoc i Poshtėm village, two others in the crossroads
linking Novolan, Bruznik, and Dubofc, and a further ten tanks left for Novolan, while
others headed for Bukosh. A Serbian paramilitary police convoy also moved towards Bukosh
village, sources said.
Around 11:10 CET, Serbian forces started firing in the direction of Bukosh. A bit earlier,
a Serb military convoy, involving four lorries trailing two cannons, had moved into the
area.
After 11:00 hrs, a Serb military column headed towards the village of Pantinė.
More Serb troops and weaponry were heading in the direction of Bukosh village after 14:00
CET today. The Albanian population has fled the village. The Serb police turned back the
people who tried to enter the town of Vushtrri, so they had to look for refuge in the
Mitrovica villages.
Albanian-run educational authorities in Vushtrri have decided to close down the schools
until Monday in view of the extremely dangerous situation prevailing there.
Serbian Military Building up in the Mitrovica Area
PRISHTINA, Feb 25 (KIC) - Serbian troops, backed up by heavy weaponry, have been deployed
around the Vaganicė village, just outside the town of Mitrovica, as well as on the uphill
linking the Bair negihbourhood and the villages of Vaganicė e Epėrme, Verrnicė, Pirē
and Oshlan.
The Serbian army has been building up in the mountainous area linking the villages of
Lushtė, Zhabar, Koshtovė, Broboniq and Koprivė, local sources said.
The village of Burim shelled from Kijevė
Klinė, 25 February (ARTA) 2100CET --
The Klinė municipal village of Burim was subjected to a mine-launcher attack on Wednesday
afternoon. The families that had returned to the burnt-down village, fled to safer areas
again, the "Koha Ditore" correspondent reported on Thursday.
There are also claims that Serb snipers, stationed in Ēukė e Gllarevės, shot at
vehicles passing the Gllarevė-Pėrēevė road.
The "KD" correspondent also reported on the mass evacuation of Serbs from
villages not afflicted by war, like Potėrē i Epėrm.
Another case of abduction
Suharekė, 25 February (ARTA) 2100CET --
Two large convoys of the "Yugoslav" army passed through the center of town
before noon on Thursday, heading for Prizren, as there is still a great presence of Serb
forces near the villages of Studenqan and Reshtan, the "KD" correspondent said.
According to "KD" sources, Serb forces are doing their best to penetrate to
Rahovec, as KLA units are engaged in preventing them.
The inhabitants of the village of Peēan i Vogėl, on the other hand, abandoned their
homes, fearing the possibility of crossing ways with Serb forces.
In the meantime, the LDK Information Commission notified that unidentified persons
abducted 29 year old Muharrem Ahmet Hysenaj, from the village of Reēan, on Wednesday
evening. There is still no information on his well being.
Sources from the village of Dubravė said that unknown persons shot in the direction of
the village at around 0300CET on Thursday, breaking most of the windows of local stores
and houses.
Stamping Out Sparks Near Kosova Powder Keg
By CARLOTTA GALL
STUDENCANE, Yugoslavia -- A half-mile stretch of open road was all that separated Serbian
police forces patrolling a checkpoint and Kosova Liberation Army guerrillas staked out in
the village of Studencane.
The road between was empty but for two farm tillers that the guerrillas had placed as
improvised road blocks. They were the only indication of the tense standoff that has been
dragging on all week and preventing villagers from coming home.
The Interior Ministry police were insisting they would resume patrols along the road to
two Serbian villages beyond. The rebels, led by Commander Drini, one of the six zone
commanders in Kosova and who is known only by his nom de guerre, had said they would fire
on any police vehicle that came through.
Commander Drini described it as a "game of nerves."
With tensions raised in Kosova since peace talks in France failed to reach a final
agreement, and with increased Serbian troop movements around the region, the brinkmanship
was potentially lethal. It had the foreign monitors in the region, led by Brig. Gen.
Michel Maisonneuve of Canada, working all night to avoid a clash.
"I was feeling pretty bad last night," Maisonneuve admitted. By morning, though,
he had persuaded the police to wait another day, and the rebels to let the patrols resume
on Friday.
To try to return to normal, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, which
oversees the monitor program, would accompany the police on Friday, he said, and the
guerrillas would stay hidden from the road while the patrol passed.
In a gesture of compromise, the rebels brought out tractors to drag away their improvised
defenses from the road.
Commander Drini, 38, a former officer of the Yugoslav People's Army, surrounded by some 20
guerrillas, said, "It is a chess game, and we have to sacrifice something."
Asked if he felt vulnerable, he said his anti-tank grenade launchers were nearby. With a
glance toward the Serbian forces facing him, he said, "I do not think they are so
brave."
The day was nevertheless a success for the international monitors who had defused the
tension for another day. "We are getting across to both sides that it is in their
interests to reduce tensions during this period and bring the villagers back,"
Maisonneuve said. Yet he warned that the situation could change quickly. "It just
takes one negligent discharge," he said.
Military observers are concerned about the increased movement of large numbers of Serbian
troops and armor in Kosova. Much of it appears to be exercises as the Serbian military
practices evacuating bases and barracks in the event of NATO air strikes.
There also has been a buildup of troops along the southern border with Macedonia and the
army is reported to have mined a bridge near the frontier. The heavy troop presence could
easily block the departure from Kosova of foreign monitors, one observer said.
It also could block the arrival of a NATO peacekeeping force for Kosova, which probably
would arrive from Macedonia, where the NATO extraction force is already based.
The greatest fear is, however, that the Serbian military is planning an offensive against
the rebels and the ethnic Albanian villages under their control. The Serbian army
announced it was conducting a "live-firing exercise" around the village of Bukos
in northern Kosova Thursday, but a reporter who gained access said the army was firing
mortars on the village.
The brinkmanship in Studencane was an illustration of how both sides are trying to inch
forward to increase the area they control, while a peace settlement remains uncertain.
Landing With "Hercules"
Prishtina, 25 February (ARTA) 2200CET --
After saying goodbye to each other, inside the French "Hercules", that brought
them to the airport of Prishtina, the representatives of the Kosova Albanians, returned on
Thursday to confirm the support of two million Albanians for the "yes" given at
the Rambouillet chateau.
From one exit, President Rugova, professor Agani and Veton Surroi came out. They were
welcomed with flowers. Jakup Krasniqi, Ramė Buja and Azem Syla, came out from the other
exit, put the guns in their belts and entered the vehicles of the American KDOM, departing
for three more weeks, until the agreement is signed.
For 17 full days, the Kosova Albanian representatives worked united at the Rambouillet
chateau, built in the 14th century, to approve in a single voice the declaration for peace
in Kosova in the 21st century.
"It is a very important event for Kosova, and a very important agreement", said
President Rugova, as he was walking to his vehicle, in Sllatina, Prishtina airport.
The results of the negotiations, that were supposed to push Serbia away from Kosova, were
now seeking "the restoration of the decision in a wider basis".
"The agreement has a historical importance for Kosova, for all the Albanians in the
Balkans, and everyone should participate in reaching this decision", said Veton
Surroi, one of the 13 negotiators of Kosova.
"We want to build up political and military support for this decision, we think we
are on the right track, and we think we will have this decision in two weeks time",
said Surroi.
The agreement offered in Rambouillet, should ensure Kosova an interim status, during which
there will be a buildup of democratic, legislative, executive and independent court
institutions.
The agreement also plans that after three years, there will be a decision on the final
status of Kosova, which will be reached according to the will of the Kosova people. During
this time, Kosova will be under the security of NATO, which should station, immediately
after the agreement is signed.
"The arrival of the NATO forces, ensures peace in Kosova, it's arrival makes Kosova a
part of the West and I hope that Kosova is on its way to independence", said Rexhep
Qosja, who headed the United Democratic Movement, in Rambouillet.
Two of the Kosovar negotiators, Xhavit Haliti and Hashim Thaēi, the head of the
delegation and the youngest member of the 15 member group, did not manage to join their
fellow fighters in Shala (former Sedllarė), who were roaring around the vehicles that
brought their leaders.
"We were obliged to convey the voice of Kosova and the KLA in Rambouillet, and we did
it well in the international conference on Kosova, the first international conference
participated by representatives of the Albanians people", Jakup Krasniqi said, whose
arrival together with "Daja i Madh", (The Big Uncle), Azem Syla (and Ramė Buja
in Shalė was greeted with chants of "UĒK, UĒK". Jakup Krasniqi, who was
awaited by commander Ēelik (Steel) and other members of the General Headquarters, said
"we did not bring you autonomy, like some might say, or a republic or independence
from Rambouillet".
"We could, but did not use the chance to bring back an international protectorate. We
did not want to decide in favor without consulting the people, experts, intellectuals and
the KLA", Krasniqi said as he entered a meeting with the deputy chief of the OSCE
Verification Mission, Gabriel Keller and head of the American verifiers, Shawn Burns.
"Something has been achieved", he said. "We said `yes', but we want the
political organizations and the KLA entirely to declare themselves about this decision, so
this decision will reach every town and village", said Surroi, at the airport of
Prishtina.
According to him, the negotiating delegation in Rambouillet, was also made out of five
other KLA soldiers, who were authorized by their regional commanders.
"These people brought the decision. If they were not authorized, then why wasn't this
said at the very beginning, but in the last day", said Surroi.
"I think it is the opposite, the people who were in Rambouillet, were authorized by
the fighters themselves, they have reached very important decisions and we will support
them".
Ibrahim Rugova: It is a temporary agreement, on which we have worked and of course, we
will have another consultation in Kosova and we will sign the agreement. So, it is a very
important event for Kosova, and a very important agreement, because it is a global,
political and military agreement for Kosova.
Jakup Krasniqi: We were obliged to convey the voice of Kosova and the KLA in Rambouillet,
and we did it well in the international conference on Kosova, the first international
conference participated by representatives of the Albanian people.
We did not go with the illusion of bringing the independence of Kosova from Rambouillet.
The independence of Kosova depends on our struggle, our determination to fight for
freedom, independence and democracy.
We did not bring you autonomy, like some might say, or a republic or independence in
Rambouillet and from Rambouillet. We could, but did not use the chance to bring back an
international protectorate. We did not want to decide in favor without consulting the
people, experts, intellectuals and the KLA. If we do decide in favor of the protectorate,
it will depend on our organization, unity and determination to progress in the next three
years, to ensure ourselves independence. Something has been achieved however. We hope the
people of Kosova will realize their aspirations for freedom and independence in the
future, through organization and unity among military and political forces of Kosova.
Rexhep Qosja: We have worked united and united, we approved the declaration which we send
to our people to decide.
This agreement has several positive elements:
-first it is an agreement for an interim status of Kosova, during which, there will be a
buildup of democratic, legislative, executive and independent court institutions;
-second, after a period of three years a decision will be reached on the final status of
Kosova and it will be decided based on its will; and the letter of the Secretary of state,
Albright, is a good proof of that. In the meantime, the Serb forces will retreat from
Kosova during this status, whereas the transformation of the KLA will be done in
collaboration with the USA.
-third, as a closure to all this is the coming of the NATO forces to Kosova. The arrival
of the NATO forces in Kosova, ensures peace, its arrival makes Kosova a part of the West.
I hope Kosova is on its way to independence.
Veton Surroi: The results of the negotiations are that we want to provide a wider basis
for our decision. We want to build up political and military support for this decision, we
think we are on the right track, and we think we will have this decision in two weeks
time. Our decision was based on the knowledge of understanding because this agreement has
a historical importance for Kosova, for all the Albanians in the Balkans, and everyone
should participate in reaching this decision.
We said `yes', but we want the political organizations and the KLA entirely to declare
themselves about this decision, so this decision will reach every town and village.
We want the people to reach the decision of our process of democratization, to make them
participants of the decision for the final "yes".
There is nothing in this agreement that can prevent Kosovars from having a referendum, and
there is no force that can do so. This stand is completely supported by the USA.
I am absolutely convinced that the people of Kosova want peace, they want NATO in Kosova
and the referendum. This is the agreement. I think the agreement offers security to
Kosova, it offers self-governing for the next coming three years. Maybe problems will come
up in the future concerning the competencies, but this will also be solved, and finally I
think Kosovars will decide about the permanent decision, themselves, and this is in the
agreement.
We have signed the document in which the people's will is placed explicitly, and I think
that if the people's will is not self-governing, then I don't know what is.
I think it was an important step because the three blocs that formed the negotiating team
were able to see what a consensus is and how working together is, thus they were able to
pass all obstructions they had during the year. They formed the government, which must be
put to work and which will be part of the agreement, because no matter when the
implementation of the agreements begins, full cooperation from the Kosova Albanian side
will be required.
An individual "counter" could be expected.
Mr. Demaēi is one from the two million people of Kosova.
Mr. Demaēi had a chance to come to Rambouillet to see what is happening there and refuse
or accept there.
The government is an agreement of three political subjects and I think Mr. Demaēi should
respect these subjects as they are and despite the personal respect I feel for him, I
think his decision is based more on a personal, an individual approach, than it is on
institutional importance.
Compromise Satisfies Residents of Prishtina Many Hope for
Eventual Independence
By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, February 24, 1999; Page A17
PRISHTINA, Yugoslavia, Feb. 23—With no formal peace agreement in place and with fresh
fighting on the snow-blanketed landscape nearby, ethnic Albanians in this regional capital
said today they were satisfied nevertheless that the results of peace negotiations in
France had brought a compromise that left them united against their Serbian nemesis.
Reaction to the talks was dominated here by two sentiments that seemed to overwhelm more
pessimistic analyses emerging from diplomats -- elation that their negotiators appeared to
have trumped Belgrade by agreeing to agree later to an accord, and acceptance that the
delay is a necessary price to ensure that all ethnic Albanians, particularly in the Kosova
Liberation Army, are in step with its wording.
"It is very important for Albanians to accept this with internal cohesion so there
are no splits" among their representatives, said Ylber Hysa, executive director of
Kosova Action For Civic Initiatives, the province's first independent political research
organization. "It was also very important for the Albanian delegation to be seen to
accept this because now the game goes to the other side. This was a very good step."
Hysa and others also predicted that the agreement would be accepted once it is explained
to the Kosova Liberation Army's command structure. The agreement does not include specific
wording on a referendum on independence for Kosova, a sticking point for ethnic Albanian
delegates over the last two weeks, but analysts said alternative wording calling for a
conference on Kosova after three years would open the door to nationhood and win support
of hard-liners.
"The realization of our aspirations will emerge in a transitional period," said
Mahmut Bakalli, who was president of Kosova from 1971 to 1981, when it enjoyed autonomy as
part of the old Yugoslav federation that was torn apart by civil war in the early '90s.
"I think the issue of self-determination is very clear in the agreement. After three
years, we must have an international conference or some other mechanism to discuss the
future of Kosova. And at that time, the people's wishes will have to be respected."
"I don't think it's a problem," said Baton Haxhiu, an editor at the Kosova
Albanian daily Koha Ditore, of the negotiators' failure to secure a commitment for a
referendum. "After three years, we can do many things. Right now we need the police
and [the Yugoslav army] out of Kosova."
Rebel commanders in Kosova have been reluctant to talk to reporters as negotiations
continued over the past few days, but rank and file guerrillas appeared willing to accept
autonomy with some formula for a future examination of Kosova's political status.
"We'll do what [Kosova Liberation Army negotiators] say," said Miftar Shala, 39,
in an interview at a rebel stronghold west of Pristina.
As a reminder of the alternative, the hills northwest of Pristina crackled with the sounds
of automatic weapons and the boom of artillery fire. Women, elderly men and children fled
their red-brick farmhouses by foot and on carts behind tractors and horses to escape the
skirmishing, which has gone on for four days in the area around the town of Vucitrn. About
4,000 civilians have been driven from their farmhouses in the last four days, and today
many had to trudge through snowdrifts to flee to the nearby hills.
Five Serbian policemen were reported wounded in today's fighting, and an Associated Press
photographer who was accompanying them was hit by shrapnel. No one was seriously injured.
On the streets of Pristina, wet with slush from a heavy morning snowfall, there were signs
of optimism despite the fighting and general acknowledgment that negotiations had not
removed all obstacles to peace. "There should be a referendum after three
years," said Lira Xharra, 20, a student, who hugged a friend in joy when she heard
that the ethnic Albanian delegation had indicated it would sign. "But the agreement
calls for elections after nine months and elections can be a referendum in other
words."
Most Serbian civilians approached by reporters in Pristina declined to be interviewed, but
Mila Stanovic, 52, said he was happy the ethnic Albanians had signed and expressed hope
that the Belgrade government would too. But, like Belgrade, he rejected a NATO-led
peacekeeping force. "We can live with Albanians," he said. "I think we can
solve this problem in a political way and we can sign, but without interference from NATO
or the Russians or anyone."
Kosova's permanent tensions -- marked by military assaults and counterattacks, rural
assassinations with bodies dumped in ditches, urban bombings and the continuing trauma of
hundreds of thousands of refugees -- have been heightened in recent days by the prospect
of a NATO air assault.
Government troops have wired explosives to a key bridge on the road from the Macedonian
border to Pristina, apparently to defend against any intervention by NATO ground forces.
And the commander of the Yugoslav army, Gen. Col. Dragoljub Ojdanic said this week that
his forces were ready to defend Kosova "with greatest losses."
"The delegation has some time to explain the agreement," said former Kosova
president Bakalli. "And I think the majority of the people will recognize that this
is the only way for a peaceful solution."
Serb tanks spark Kosova fears (BBC)
Serbs deny they are planning a new offensive in Kosova
The Yugoslav army has moved 4,500 troops, more than 60 tanks and other military equipment
to the Kosova border amid stern warnings from Nato and the US.
The deployment, backing up forces already inside the province, comes as fighting between
the Serbs and ethnic Albanians escalates.
The United States has warned the Yugoslav authorities against any new offensive before a
peace accord is finalised, saying such a move would prompt strong Nato military action.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said Nato and the US had made clear they would
protect Kosova's ethnic Albanian majority from "humanitarian disasters".
"We don't know why they have moved these troops or exactly what they plan to do with
them," he added.
The Serbian authorities have denied suggestions that they are planning a new offensive.
But Albanian Premier Pandeli Majko reiterated his call for Nato to intervene on the
ground.
"Belgrade is sending troops massively into the region [of Kosova] in what I see as a
preparation for a general offensive against Kosova," he said in a letter to Nato
Secretary-General Javier Solana.
He added that Nato was the only institution capable of forcing Belgrade to stop the
violence.
Splits within KLA
The latest concern coincides with the return of the ethnic Albanian delegation from France
following marathon peace talks.
The negotiations broke up on Tuesday with no clear result apart from a commitment to meet
again on 15 March to finalise an internationally brokered settlement.
Nato had threatened air strikes if the Serbs blocked the autonomy deal for Kosova, but in
the end both delegations refused to sign.
The ethnic Albanians had to postpone their return home until Thursday after Serbian
authorities initially refused to guarantee safe passage through Pristina airport for
delegation members who belonged to the rebel Kosova Liberation Army.
The delegation, which included KLA representative Hashim Thaci, has announced plans to
form a transitional ethnic-Albanian government, as required by the peace plan.
But the KLA's political chief Adem Demaci - who boycotted the peace talks - warned such a
government would have no legitimacy.
Mr Demaci called it a ploy to dupe Kosova's ethnic Albanians into accepting less than full
independence for the province where they form 90% of the population.
Shelling
Fighting has meanwhile continued in Kosova. The latest clashes were in Bukos, about 30
kilometres northwest of Pristina, where Serb tanks and mortars appeared to be targeting
KLA positions.
Fighting in the same area earlier this week left one Serb civilian dead and five Serb
policemen wounded.
International monitors reported at least 15 Yugoslav tanks and other heavy hardware
amassed in the region.
There has also been a tense stand-off between the Serbian security forces and KLA units
near the southern town of Suva Reka.
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