| Grave Situation Reported in Podjeva in Aftermath of Four-Day Serb Offensive During the Serb attack on Sunday, Jetullah Kastrati was killed in his
native Obrançë village.
Today (Monday) morning, his fellow villager,
schoolteacher Remzi Demolli, died of fatal wounds he had sustained yesterday when a shell
hit him.
On Saturday afternoon, the bodies of two UÇK fighters,
Lulzim Jashari and Skënder Zejnullahu, killed on 24 December, were found in Obrançë
PRISHTINA, Dec 28 (KIC) - While there have been no fresh Serb
attacks today (Monday), a grave situation has been reported in Podjeva area, 30 km north
of Prishtina, in the wake of the four-day combined Serb military and police offensive
against Albanian villages in northern Kosova.
During the Serb attack on Sunday, Jetullah Kastrati was
killed in his native Obrançë village. Today (Monday) morning, his fellow villager,
schoolteacher Remzi Demolli, died of fatal wounds he had sustained yesterday when a shell
hit him.
On Saturday afternoon, the bodies of two UÇK fighters,
Lulzim Jashari and Skënder Zejnullahu, killed on 24 December, were found in Obrançë.
At least 16 Albanians - 13 of whom civilians, 3 UÇK fighters
- are known to have died since Thursday, although the casualty toll is feared higher, as
the consequences of the fierce Serbian attack on Sunday are by and large unknown yet.
There is a huge Serbian police intimidating presence in the town and its outskirts leading
to Obrançë and Llapashticë, the villages targeted most by the Serb offensive.
LDK sources in Podjeva said shooting was heard overnight in
the town of Podjeva, from midnight to 3 a.m. today (Monday). Serbian armoured vehicles
travelled the road from town to Obrançë village, an eye-witness said.
Serbian police have been patrolling the town streets today.
Townsfolk went out today, be it in very limited fashion, after two to three days of
virtual standstill in the lives of the Podjevans.
Reports said two Albanians, Sabit Rrahimi (44) and his
16-year-old son Avni were wounded yesterday in their home near the Besiana motel in
Podjeva during Serb shooting. The houses of Hashim Haziri, Ahmet Muçolli, Sabit Rrahimi
and Ahmet Hoxha in Podjeva were shelled yesterday, local sources said.
LDK sources in Podjeva said over 15,000 Albanians have been
forced from their homes since Thursday, on the Christmas Eve, in the Podjeva area. Under
subfreezing temperatures, they trekked towards relative safety in outlying villages
outside. They have been reported in desperate situation - in urgent need of food and
medication.
The LDK chapter in Podjeva said a convoy of Serb vehicles,
including 2 armoured vehicles and five Land Rovers, left Podjeva for the northern
Kërpimeh village at 14:30 hrs today.
UÇK positions have been reported sniped today from the house
of Milovan Radojevic, who was killed Saturday in his native Obrançë village.
Early in the afternoon today, local Serbs and Montenegrins
were distributed weapons in Livadicë village, a few km northeast of Podjeva, local
sources said.
'Criminal and Victim
Cannot Be Declared Equally to Blame, as Accomplices', the UÇK Says
PRISHTINA, Dec 28 (KIC) - Albanian citizens and international
employees in Kosova face an increasing uncertainty and insecurity as Serbian military and
police troops launched their offensive in Llapi region, the General Staff of the UÇK
(Kosova Liberation Army) said in a statement. Having been defeated by the UÇK forces in
Llapi region on 24 December, the Serbian occupation forces acted in retribution against
the Albanian civilian population and threatened OSCE observers and international media
representatives, the UÇK General Staff said. "In these exacerbated circumstances,
the OSCE observers face huge difficulties and obstruction by the occupying [Serb]
forces", the UÇK said, adding that international institutions, governmental and
non-governmental, as well as media representatives, will in no way be facing obstructions
by the Albanian people and the UÇK. "They will in no way be harmed by us", but
rather welcomed.
The UÇK General Staff called on the international
representatives to inform in an "objective manner" about the situation in
Kosova. "We call on the international community to inform in an impartial way about
the situation in Kosova, because criminal and victim cannot be declared equally to blame,
as accomplices".
We are confident you have not sent your representatives to
approve of the Belgrade regime's crimes", the UÇK General Staff said in the
statement.
Yesterday's events...
Serb Forces Renew Heavy Attack, Shell
Obrançë and Llapashticë Villages Sunday
Police holds the town of Podjeva 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
Obrançë and Llapashticë villages, a couple kilometres west of the town of Podjeva 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 Obrançë was being
reported shelled by a great number of Serb military tanks deployed along the Podjeva -
Peran roadway, a couple of kilometres long. Both Obrançë and Llapashticë villages are
being shelled also by Serb army tanks deployed earlier in the compounds of the Brick
Factory in Podjeva. Eye-witnesses said columns of smoke are billowing from the village of
Obrançë. In the suburbs of Obrançë and the outskirts of Podjeva leading towards
Llapashticë, Serb forces have been reported raiding and looting Albanian houses.
Thousands of Albanians - mainly women, children and the elderly - have fled the villages
of Obrançë, Llapashticë, Gllamnik, Sekiraçë, Buricë, Konushec and two Podjeva
neighborhoods. They have sought refuge mainly in the northern villages of Bradash and
Katunishtë ('Velika Reka') as well as southward, in Majac, Lupç 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 KLA units found the body of Ajvaz Potera (43) in his native
village of Llapashticë e Ulët. He was a mentally- retarded man, and was killed during
the Serb offensive against the village. Two KLA soldiers, killed on Thursday, were found
today in Obrançë village. An eye-witness from Podjeva said two bodies remained lying
near the farmhouse of Bajrush Murati, near the 'Tabet e Llapashticës'. They could not be
collected because the area was sniped by Serbian forces. A critical situation has been
reported prevailing today in Podjeva, 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 Podjeva. The LDK Information Commission in Podjeva
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
Podjeva 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 Podjeva.
Serb in Obrançë Was Killed by KLA
on Saturday
Milovan Radojevic had opened fire and wounded an KLA
fighter, local KLA commander says
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - The local Serb, Milovan Radojevic
(65), who was killed in Obrançë village of Podjeva on Saturday, had opened fire and
wounded an KLA (Kosova Liberation Army) fighter, the KLA 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 Obrançë", the KLA 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 KLA. The
killed Serb had opened fire and "lightly wounded" an KLA fighter, Remi said,
adding that the Serb attacker's house had been raided then, and weapons seized there by
the KLA. Serbian military and police forces had made only minor encroachments in KLA
positions in the Podjeva 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 KLA commander said. At least 10
Albanians, nine of whom civilians, were killed by Serbian forces on Thursday.
KIC Second Edition: 16:30 CET
Serbian Shelling Stops, Grave Consequences Feared in
Podjeva Area
Serbian forces machine-gunned a number of Albanian houses
in Podjeva
PRISHTINA, Dec 27 (KIC) - The LDK sources in the town of
Podjeva 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 Obrançë, Katunishtë ('Velika Reka'), Llapashticë, and Buricë, west of
Podjeva, were shelled for several hours in a row. Several Serb tanks and other Serb
vehicles withdrew from Obrançë, but three to four tanks and a number of APCs were still
inside the village, a couple of km west of Podjeva, 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 Podjeva, home to 20,000 people, and in its
outskirts. Serbian forces occupying the Besiana hotel, at the edge of Podjeva, on the
Prishtina-Podjeva highway leading to Nis (Serbia), have machine-gunned a number of
Albanian houses of the Buçaj and Visoka family compounds in Podjeva. The houses of Isak
Buçaj, Ramë Buçaj, Adem Buçaj, Osman Visoka, Shefki Visoka, and Ramë Visoka have been
fired upon, LDK sources said. Shooting was reported also in the Albanian neighbourhood
where the Serb church is situated in Podjeva. Meanwhile, the Serb regime Media Center in
Prishtina said a Serb, Dragoslav Zdravkovic (1936), was wounded today morning in the
village of Katunishtë ('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 Obrançë is on the way to Katunishtë. Both villages were shelled by
Serbian forces today. Agim Veliu, vice-chairman of the LDK chapter in Podjeva, told the
KIC by phone several thousand Albanians - mostly women, children and elderly - have been
forced to flee their homes in Buricë, Konushec, Gllamnik, Llapashticë, the outskirts of
the town of Podjeva, Obrançë and Katunishtë ('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.
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 Obrançë and Llapashticë, in the
municipality of Podjeva, 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 KLA (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 KLA
positions, as well as the ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosova", Xhemail Mustafa said
in a statement to the KIC.
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." |
