Tagesnachrichten 5. August 1998
                  von ALBANEWS und anderen
                                    
         Daily Report No 1512  August 5, 1998
                  Kosova Information Center

1. Reports about deportation and persons repatriated to Kosova
    if possible in German and in English
2. Daily Reports from KIC (Kosova Information Center)
3. news from ARTA /ATA / RFE/RL NEWSLINE and so on
4. Reports from Human Rights Organisations
    especially CDHRF (Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, Prishtina)
5. eventual additional press news
6. Background-information
7. earlier news - so far as room is given by my provider on the server
8. The Bible says
 
• Nachrichten ueber Abschiebungen und Abgeschobene nach Kosova

   nach Moeglichkeit in deutsch und in englisch
• Nachrichten des KIC (Kosova Information Center) in englisch
• Nachrichten von ARTA /ATA / RFE/RL NEWSLINE usw. in englisch
• Berichte von Menschenrechtsorganisationen in englisch -

insbesondere von CDHRF (Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms)
• eventuell weitere Presse-Nachrichten in englisch
• Hintergrund-Informationen - in englisch, zum Teil Uebersetzung in deutsch
• fruehere Nachrichten - soweit dafuer Platz ist auf dem Server des Providers
• Die Bibel sagt

      7. to call on the Commission and the Council to provide all necessary humanitarian aid to the victims of and the refugees from the acts of violence and call on member states to stop returning refugees and asylum seekers to Kosova where protection cannot be guaranteed;

Derzeit werden zwar keine Kosova-Albaner abgeschoben, aber:
Leider gibt es immer noch keinen Abschiebe-Stop !
_______________________________________________________________________

In these times no Kosova-Albanians will be deported, but:
Still there is no stop of deportations !
_______________________________________________________________________
Aus Schweden hat mich die Nachricht erreicht
From Sweden I got message::

Geplant sind Fußball-Begegnungen zwischen FC Bayern München und FK Obilic Belgrad am 12. und am 26. August. - An sich schön,  a b e r
Scheduled are football-maches between FC Bayern München and FK Obilic Belgrad on 12th and 26th August. - Very nice,  b u t

"If you look at:  http://www.sport1.de/vereine/bayern/verein/obilic.html  you will find that Bayern Munchen is writing NOTHING at all about the background that the leader of FK Obilic Belgrad is having !!!!!
... About -Arkan-, official name Zeljko Raznjatovic´, You can read about him in the final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 780 (1992). For futher info about this facts please look at: http://mprofaca.cro.net/kosovo04.html

This man is a
- wellknown criminal,
- member of the Serbian Parliament,
- Leader of the notorius pramilitarian force the Serbian Tigers who are accused for
   murdering 200 croatian patients when they were still lying in their hospital bed
   at the hospital of Vukovar in Croatia,
- international wanted by INTERPOL for heavy robbery and suspected for other
   things in Sweden as f.e. organizing to Sweden heavy smuggling of ciggarets;
   alcohol;narcotica and so on,
- on the run from a prison sentence in Belgium,
- accused for murder in Holland, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Kosova."

_______________________________________________________________________
Betreff:         [ALBANEWS] News:Kosova Daily Report #1512
Datum:         Wed, 5 Aug 1998 17:07:00 +0200
    Von:         Edmond Hajrullaaga <edihaga@EUnet.yu>

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1512
Prishtina, 5 August 1998

President Rugova Receives Austrian and German Ambassadors

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr Ibrahim Rugova received today for talks in Prishtina Mr. Wolfgang Petritsch, Ambassador of Austria to Belgrade, and Mr. Wilfried Gruber, Germany's Ambassador to Belgrade.
The current situation in Kosova in the wake of the Serbian offensive, as well as the plight of Albanians displaced from their homes, were discussed in the meeting.
President Rugova said the Serb military and police offensive against the Albanian population has resulted in loss of life amongst the unprotected civilians, as well as systematic destruction of Albanian houses and property in many parts of Kosova.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in the past few days alone Rugova said, adding that the ongoing Belgrade offensive is compounded with an ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosova. President Ibrahim Rugova pressed for an urgent international intervention to halt the Serbian offensive and to protect the people of Kosova. He also urged for speedy international action to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
The best solution for Kosova is independence, in accordance with the will of the people of Kosova, whereby all rights of the local Serb community would be guaranteed, Rugova said.
Ambassadors Petritsch - whose country holds the EU Presidency - and Gruber expressed the concern of their governments over the situation in Kosova. The conditions should be created for a negotiated settlement in Kosova, they concluded.

Serbian Attack on Likoc and Rezallë Villages Continues

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Serbian forces started today (Wednesday), at 10 o'clock in the morning, an attack on the village of Likoc and the surrounding villages in the Drenica region. The Skenderaj chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said Serb forces were launching rockets from Morina and their position near Llaushë. Serb aircraft flew low overhead the area today.
Reports said the village of Rezallë was being shelled by Serb forces, which torched many Albanian houses and crops.
The LDK Information Commission in Gllogovc said the houses of two Albanian family compounds, Sopi and Gashi, in Llapushnik have been burned altogether, while other family compounds are also burning. Eye-witnesses said everything has been burned from the Komoran crossroads to the local medical center in the village. There was overnight artillery fire beyond Llapushnik.
Meanwhile, the exodus of people out of their home villages in Drenica goes on. People are heading for Mitrovica and Vushtrri. At least 400 tractors passed through the Verbovc gorge.
While leaving her home on 2 August, an old Albanian woman, Maliqe Miftari, resident of Vitak village of Skenderaj, died in Verboc, a village in the municipality of Gllogovc.

Serb Forces Take Control of Five UÇK Strongholds in Drenica, Serb Press Says

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Serb press said Serb forces took control of the village of Llaushë, municipality of Skenderaj, yesterday morning. It was a UÇK stronghold, surrounded by minefields, sources said.
Serb forces took also control over the villages of Açarevë, Jabllanicë, Rakinicë and Turiçec, Serbian press said. These villages were also UÇK strongholds, it said.
The Serb media quoted Serb-installed authorities in Skenderaj as saying only a few villages remain, such as Izbica, where there are still UÇK members.

The Fate of Six Albanian Residents, Holed up in Skenderaj Village, Unknown

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Six members of the extended Hajra family have been holed up in the village of Rakinicë, the municipality of Skenderaj, and their fate remains unknown, the LDK Information Commission in Mitrovica said, quoting Beqir Hajra, a family member.
The Albanian population of the village evacuated homes as Serb forces continued their offensive in Drenica.
Reportedly, the following people remained in Rakinicë: Ajshe Hajra (f, 70), and three crippled/paralyzed persons, Shaban Hajra (63), Xufe Hajra (f, 60) and Belkize Hajra (f, 16). Two family members have stayed behind to help them, Lumnije Hajra (30), mother of two, and Hysen Hajra (62).
Serb forces claimed they took control of the village of Rakinicë yesterday morning.

30,000 Albanian Refugees from Skenderaj Reach Mitrovica

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - More than 30.000 Albanians who have fled their homes in the wake of Serb offensive in Drenica have arrived in Mitrovica, the LDK Information Commission in Mitrovica said. Such a huge number of arrivals will add further the hardships of the local Albanian population in the town. More than 3,000 Albanian households in Mitrovica depend on the welfare system Kosova has maintained to offer subsistence to those in dire need.
Meanwhile, the LDK Information Commission in  Mitrovica said Serb police have been occupying the premises of the "Nonda Bulka" elementary school in the town since 1 August.

Serb Offensive in Deçan Area Continues

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - The Serbian military and police offensive in the area of Deçan, in western Kosova, continued today, local sources told the KIC today morning. Heavy Serb artillery was pounding the Albanian villages, sources said.
The village of Junik has been the target of a heavy Serb attack for days now. At least two Albanians were killed and one wounded last night in Junik, which saw the fiercest Serb attack so far, a source from Deçan told the KIC today afternoon.

Thousands of Displaced Albanians Head Towards Suhareka

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Thousands of Albanians who have fled their homes in the villages of Malisheva and Gllogovc have been heading towards villages of the municipality of Suhareka, local LDK sources said. These Albanians have been going down the hills towards the villages of Senik, Lladroviq, Ngucat, sources said. The local population have been trying to cope with the situation and offer shelter and aid to the new arrivals.

A Dozen Thousand Albanians of Klina Municipality in Hills for a Week

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - A dozen thousand Albanians, displaced people from the Klina municipality, have been in the hills of Cerovik and Qabiq for a week now, local sources said.
At least 50 villagers, mostly residents of Dobërdol, Ujmir, and Qabiqi, have not evacuated their homes, and their fate remains unknown, they added.
Two local residents are presumed executed by Serb forces. Their bodies have been spotted from afar, but not collected.
The thousands of displaced people - most of whom children, women and the elderly - have not been able to proceed to other safer areas, being effectively held under siege by Serb forces, local sources said. They are in desperate need for food and medical supplies, but also drinking water.

Serb Offensive in Gjakova Area Continues

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - The Serbian military and police offensive in the villages of the Reka e Keqe region continued today (Wednesday), local sources said, adding that local Albanian resistance forces have been battling the attacking Serb troops in south-western Kosova. The fighting was of a lower intensity today, sources said.
Reports said that the villages of Nec, Ramoc, Smolicë, Stubëll, Berjah, Nivokaz, Dobrosh, have been turned into scorched earth by now, while Serbs continue shelling the villages of Sheremet, Rracaj and other Albanian settlements in the area. A large part of the Albanian population have been in the open in surrounding hills, without shelter food and medical care.
Local Albanian forces, including the UÇK, have regrouped and are putting up a strong resistance to the Serb onslaught involving military, paramilitary and police troops.
After having shelled the villages of the region of Dushkajë on Tuesday, Serb forces looted and torched Albanian farmsteads in the villages of Cërmjan, Gërgoc, Zhabel, Bardhaniq, Jabllanicë and Krelan, local LDK sources said.
Reports indicate some 10,000 Albanians have been turned into displaced people, wandering about the surrounding mountains. They are threatened by a humanitarian catastrophe.

Over 100 Serb Motorized Vehicles Withdraw from Reka e Keqe Region

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Last evening, a convoy of Serb military, paramilitary and police troops on board 105 motorized vehicles and with heavy combat armament, withdrew from the villages of the Reka e Keqe in the municipality of Gjakova, LDK sources in the town said. These Serb troops roamed the streets of Gjakova last night, opening fire and singing Serb chauvinist songs. Serb forces provoked the Albanians in Gjakova (99 percent of the population) chanting slogans; "Siptari, sve cemo vas ubiti" (Albanians, we will kill you all!).
The Serb convoy then headed towards the road leading to Prizren, whereas part of it was stationed in the Serb military garrison in Gjakova. Serbian paramilitary and police troops patrolled the streets today and sang Serb chauvinist songs.
Reports said there was artillery fire last night in the villages along the Gjakova-Peja roadway, such as in Dujakë, in Hereç and in the villages of the municipality of Deçan.

Seven Albanians Killed in the Past Few Days in Gjakova Municipality

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Serbian forces killed these days Haxhi Adem Brahimaj (80), resident of Krelan, the LDK Information Commission in Gjakova reported.
Meanwhile, yesterday Serb forces killed five elderly Albanians - three men and two women - in Jabllanicë village, LDK sources said, adding that their identity has not yet been established.
Reports said the body of an Albanian, around 50 years of age, has been lying on the ground between the villages of Meje and Madanaj, near a power sub-station, since 2 August. He was killed by Serb forces. Albanians have not dared go and pick up the body as Serb snipers have been operating in the area.

Entire Villages Levelled as Serbs Complete Scorched-earth Policy Campaign

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Serb forces advancing into the Klina villages, in central Kosova, have been torching whatever is Albanian, Nikë Krasniqi, member of the LDK Presidency in Peja, told the KIC today morning. Mr. Krasniqi named a number of Albanian villages in the Klina municipality - including Bokshiq, Çeskovë, Nepole, and Gllogjan - which have been virtually leveled by the encroaching Serbian police, military and paramilitary forces. He noted that it will be impossible for days, perhaps weeks, to establish the definitive casualty-toll in that part of Kosova.
The local population has been scattered all around, most of them on the edge of starvation, hiding in the forests, the LDK activist said.

Serbs Toss Poisonous Gas in Albanian Village, Witness Claims

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Serbs have been using poisonous gases against Albanians in Kosova, an eye-witness told today the LDK chapter in Prizren.
Halit Shala told the LDK chapter that a motorized convoy with Serb paramilitaries on board which drove along the Krusha e Madhe village on Tuesday morning tossed amounts of poison on the streets of the village. A number of Albanians who happened out were affected by the poison and had to seek medical treatment, he said. The LDK information commission said that such a move on the part of the Serbs, which is in violation of all international conventions, is proof that the Serb regime is adamant on exploiting all the tools available to carry out its ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosova.
The commission noted that there have been numerous practices by both Serb police and paramilitary troops brutalizing civilians solely because they are Albanians. Old men wearing traditional white skullcaps have been particularly targeted, the LDK said, naming several of them, as Ali Jupa (64), Xahidin Jupa (60), Selami Ramusha (70), Eqrem Mullaaliu, Ruzhdi Gashi, Muhamet Gashi, who have been tortured lately at Serb police roadblocks.

Serb Troops Attack Godanc Village in Shtime

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) -  The Godanc village in Shtime municipality, south of Prishtina, came under heavy Serb artillery fire on Tuesday evening. This is the first time the village was attacked, sources said.
The LDK chapter in Shtime said today morning Serb forces pounded Godanc from the huge base at Zborc village. The chapter said it had no information about possible casualties still, noting only that the local population had fled the village.
However, the LDK Information Commission in Shtime noted that immense damage was caused in several villages in the region after having been pounded with heavy artillery guns in the past few days.
The Zborc village, where heavy Serb troops have been garrisoned now, has been turned into rubble. Huge damage was also caused to the villages of Carralevë and Belincë.
Most of the Albanian population in the villages of Carraleva, Belinca, Zborci, Pjetërshtica, Duga, Karaçica, Reçaku, Godanci i Epërm, Pestova and Mollopolci have fled their homes, the Commission said.

Serb Forces Step Up Campaign of Intimidation in Prizren

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - The town of Prizren has been packed with Sreb forces - police, army and paramilitary -  who have stepped up their campaign of intimidation against the local population and those from surrounding war-torn areas sheltered in the town, local LDK sources said.
Provocations by Serbs in Prizren have become a daily occurrence. Serb troops parading the streets, as well as armed civilians, have made life appalling in the town, said the LDK information Commission today.
Serb army and police aircraft have been continuously flying low overhead Prizren, while motorized convoys with heavy armament and soldiers in combat fatigue have been driving up and down the streets of the town. Over 36 truckloads with Serb policemen, soldiers and armed civilians drove along the main street of Prizren today afternoon at around 13:00 hrs.
A large number of refugees, mainly from Malisheva and Rahovec, swelled the population of Prizren lately. Activists of LDK and local human rights groups said it is impossible for the local organizations to cope with the ever increasing flux of refugees.

Refugees from War-torn Areas Swell Population of Vushtrri

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - At least 23,000 refugees from war-torn area in Istog, Klina, Rahovec and Skënderaj, have found shelter in Vushtrri and the surrounding villages, according to the local LDK chapter.
Carts drawn by tractors and animals have swarmed the streets of Vushtrri and villages in the area. At least 64 tractor carts stopped since yesterday morning in the yard of the local school in Galica. Exhausted people, including weak and sick children, women and the old, speak of miseries they experienced during the Serb attacks and their journey of tens of kilometers in the heat and under constant fear of Serb crackdown, the LDK said.
Thousands of refugees have been sheltered in the villages of Galicë, Dubofc, Beqiq, Bukosh, Novolan, Kollë, Oshlan, Mihaliq, Dërvar, Resnik and Vushtrri.
An LDK activist told the KIC that people are in desperate need of medication, as well as food and blankets and other necessities. In some cases over 50 people have been living in a four-room cottage, he said.

Thousands of Desperate Refugees Live for Weeks in Railway Tunnel

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) -Thousands of refugees from two central Kosova municipalities, Klina and Skenderaj ('Srbica'), have been for days in the forests between the villages of Tërdefc and Açareva, witnesses said.
Most of the refugees have been spending days and nights in the open, between two railway tunnels in the area, while others have been housed in nearby villages. Anxiety about a possible crackdown looms as Serb troops a getting closer to the area which is packed with refugees, sources said.
Most of the refugees hiding in the hills and tunnels are from the villages of Shtupel, Kërrnicë, Gjurgjevik, Jashanicë, Ozdrim, Vojnik, Buroja, Kopiliq i Epërm, Kopiliq i Ulët, Açareva, Likoc, Obrija e Ulët, Llausha, etc.
Some of them have been on the move for months now.

Troops Pound Villages, Local Albanians Intimidated by Serb Police and Civilians

PRISHTINA, Aug 5 (KIC) - Several villages in the Obiliq municipality, north-west of Prishtina, have been under continued fire for the fifth straight day today.
LDK sources in Obiliq said Serb forces have been intermittently pounding the Graboc i Ulë, Graboc i Epërm, Shipitullë, Lajthishtë and Hamidi. Albanian farmsteads have been fired on with artillery and machine-guns from several positions, including the "Kosova B" power plant and a place called "Kërshi" near Grabovc village.
The LDK Information Commission in Obiliq said armed Serbs have been intimidating Albanians in the villages of the area. Many were ill- treated by the Serbs in the Plametin village over the past two days, the report said. A as result of increased armed attacks and a campaign of intimidation by both Serb troops and paramilitary gangs, the population has been on the move, seeking sanctuary in safer places in the municipality and in the capital Prishtina.

Bujku Editor in Serb Custody on Tuesday and Wednesday

PRISHTINA, Aug 4 (KIC) - Mr. Zekë Gecaj, a desk editor with the Prishtina-based daily newspaper Bujku, was held in Serb police custody in Prishtina both today and yesterday evening.
The newspaper's Chief Editor, Avni Spahiu, said Zekë Gecaj was stopped by a Sreb police patrol in the center of Prishtina on Tuesday evening while heading home after work. After having been identified he was taken to a police station, where he was held until 23:00 hrs. The reason Gecaj was taken to the police was his identity card, stating his birthplace, Llausha, a village in Drenica, Spahiu said.
Zekë Gecaj was ordered to report back to the police headquarters today morning, where he was questioned for over four hours about the newspaper and his relatives in his Llausha village. He was subject to intimidation.

Kosova Information Center
Last page!

Thirteen villages set on fire and seventeen others totally evacuated

      PRISHTINE, August 5 (ata) -  Thirteen villages have been set ablaze and 17 others have been completely evacuated, is the balance sheet of the Serb offensive in the commune of Gjakove, which is in its 11th day today. As the Information Centre of Kosova reports, so far the villages Morine, Smolice, Nec, Berjah,  Stubell, Nivokaz, Popoc, Cermjan, Jabllanice, Zhebel, Gergoc, Bardhaniq and Krelan, have become a "scorched land" while villages Koshare, Batushe, Molliq, Brovine, Ponoshec, Shishman, Duzhnje, Ramoc, Dobrosh, Sheremet, Rracaj, Pacaj, Zylfaj, Prush, Goden, Meje and Rakovine have been completely depopulated.
      The attacks by Serb forces have caused great material damages in the villages Herec and Dujake.
      LDK sources in Gjakove report that intensive fighting is continuing in Gjakove and in the villages of Reka e Keqe and Dushkaje Serb forces used yesterday missile launchers. The number  of the killed in these villages is thought to be high, but no accurate data are available because the city has been sealed off.
       A tense situation prevails in Gjakove and its outskirts because of the highly intensive fighting in Reka e Keqe and Dushkaje. The influx of the population, mainly women, children and elderly people in the villages with clashes, is very great, says Information Centre of Kosove, adding that more than 30 000 people of those zones have been displaced in Gjakove and its suburbs. There are reports that a great part of the population  of these areas have moved towards the villages of Anadrin, while still there is no report of the fate of 10 000 people of Dushkaje, who, according to the above-mentioned sources, are thought to have moved to nearby mountains, without any security for their lives, because of the nonstop bombing, while the situation of the displaced population is catastrophic: shelterless, running out of food and medicine. /p.ta/das/xh/

Sixteen villages burnt in Kline

      PRISHTINE, August 5 (ata) -
During the offensive Serb forces have undertaken recently in the commune of Kline, the villages Gjurgjevik i Madh, Gllareve, Rigjeve, Stapanice, Cerovik, Qabiq, Zabergje, Ujmir, Doberdol, Siqeve, Dush, Shtarice, Jashanice, Kerrnice, Jellofc and Resnik, have been set on fire completely, the Information Centre of Kosoves reports.
      The population have fled these villages and over 30 000 people have made for the mountains of Drenice. Women, children, elderly people and youngsters have remained in the open air, running out of food and medicine, stressed the ICK, adding that the situation is becoming more and more tragic and that the number of wounded people is great. /p.ta/das/xh/

"Tropoja '98" complex exercise to be launched soon

      BAJRAM CURRI, Aug 5 (ATA) - By R. Hoxha: Preparations for "Tropoja '98" complex exercises of the Second division infantry forces deployed in northeastern Albania are under way.
      A spokesman of the division said to ATA that the exercises are launched in the framework of the annual plan approved by the Defence Ministry. In Luzhe village, Tropoja district, where the exercises will be launched, the problems with former land owners have been resolved and 22 million Leks have been accorded by state budget for the exercises. s.sh/ak/

People from Gjakova arrived in Has

      HAS, August 5 (ATA) - By R. Hoxha: Firefighting between forces of the Kosova Liberation Army and Serb military forces in villages of Gjakova commune has forced the residents of the area to head for Has district, northeastern Albania.       "In the early morning on Wednesday some 55 persons from Gjakova entered the village of Letaj, Has district, through the Prushi Pass," Muhamet Ukperaj, head of the commune of Golajt said to ATA.
      He added that over 50 people entered the village of Zogaj in Tropoja district, north of Has and later headed for Bajram Curri.
      A spokesman of the district council said that the number of people who arrived until Wednesday midday from Gjakova is 200.
      Officials of the local government have gone to Letaj village to take measures for their accommodation and food.
      The first refugees from Kosova arrived in this district in March and their number is estimated at 287. s.sh/pas/ak/

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
___________________________________________________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 149 Part II, 5 August 1998

HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN IN KOSOVA MASS GRAVE.

Local eye- witnesses took several foreign journalists on 4 August to the site of at least two mass graves near Rahovec, which fell to Serbian paramilitary police and Yugoslav army forces after clashes with the Kosova Liberation Army in mid-July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 July 1998). The Vienna daily "Die Presse" wrote that Kosovar grave-diggers have already opened one of the graves and found "the corpses of more than 500 people, of whom 400 were children. The second grave may contain about 1,000 bodies." The grave-diggers said that the paramilitary forces of Zeljko Raznatovic "Arkan" committed the killings, but Western observers hold the Serbian police responsible, the newspaper added. Kosovar spokesmen recently told "RFE/RL Newsline" that the police include many veterans of the "ethnic cleansing" campaigns in Croatia and Bosnia. PM

UNHCR WARNS OF 'ETHNIC CLEANSING.'

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees sent a relief convoy from Prishtina to the Malisheva area on 4 August, but the vehicles had to stop at Qirez in the Skenderaj region because of heavy fighting. Relief workers could see Lausha and other nearby ethnic Albanian villages on fire. The UNHCR's Chris Janowski said in Geneva that the convoy "cannot go into a battlefield." He compared the latest developments in Kosova to the Serbian ethnic-cleansing campaigns in Bosnia and added that if this is an attempt to drive Kosovar Albanians out of Kosova, "that would be total lunacy." PM

RED CROSS FEARS EPIDEMICS.

In Prishtina, UNHCR spokesmen estimated that some 200,000 people, or 10 percent of Kosova's total population, have been displaced since Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic launched his crackdown in February. Officials of the World Food Program added that some 70,000 have taken to the roads since the current offensive began just over one week ago. Red Cross officials warned that "serious epidemics" could break out on Mount Berisha in central Kosova, where several thousand people are living in the open, AFP reported. PM

SCHUESSEL SAYS SITUATION 'TOO CONFUSED' FOR AIR STRIKES.

Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country holds the EU chair, told the Hamburg weekly "Die Woche" that the situation in Kosova is "too confused" for any air strikes there to be effective, dpa reported on 5 August. He added that only ground troops could help secure a cease-fire but that the UN would not agree to outside intervention because of Russian and Chinese opposition. Meanwhile in Belgrade, Tanjug quoted Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic as saying that attempts to put down the UCK's insurgency are a justified defense of national sovereignty. "We will suppress any violence in [the province].... We shall win this battle," he added. PM

HILL VISITS DEVASTATED AREA.

Christopher Hill, who is U.S. ambassador to Macedonia and Washington's principal negotiator in Kosova, said after visiting central Kosova on 4 August that he is "particularly concerned about the activities of the security services that are out there now.... We observed a number of structures in villages and towns that were burning as of today. We did not see any signs, however, of any fighting today," Hill told Reuters. He said he visited one village where male inhabitants who had returned for food and water for families hiding in the hills said tanks had fired on houses. "They brought me a shell from a T-55 tank and said they had many more like that. I saw some tank rounds on the ground in another village." Kosovar spokesman Veton Surroi added that he saw one house go up in flames seconds after two uniformed police emerged from it. "We saw police burning houses and looting shops," Surroi noted. PM

WESTWARD FLOW OF KOSOVARS CONTINUES.

Some 600 persons, half of whom are Kosovar refugees, leave Albania by boat each day to try to enter Italy illegally, Deutsche Welle reported on 5 August. Of that number, only about 200 are caught at sea and sent back (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 August 1998). Those Kosovars who reach land are interned in detention camps. Meanwhile in Bonn, Bavarian Interior Minister Martin Beckstein said that camps for Kosovar refugees should be set up in Italy and northern Albania as part of a "European system of burden-sharing," the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" wrote. He said that Germany will not deport any Kosovars currently living there "except for law-breakers," but he warned against any general recognition of Kosovars as refugees from a civil war. Beckstein added that such recognition would lead to an influx of refugees into Germany, as was the case during the Bosnian war, and that Germany cannot agree to that. PM

SERBIAN PEACE GROUP CALLS FOR PROTECTORATE.

The Serbian peace organization Women in Black appealed to the international community in a statement in Belgrade on 4 August to establish a protectorate over Kosova "as soon as possible." The text called on the international community to exert "all possible pressure on all warring parties to desist from using armed force and [carrying out] ethnic cleansing" and from violating human rights, the Belgrade daily "Danas" wrote. Women in Black is one of the best known and oldest peace groups in the former Yugoslavia. Meanwhile in Podgorica, the People's Party, the Social Democrats, and the Democratic Socialist Party are opposed to the recent proposal of Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement that the authorities declare a state of emergency in Kosova. Leaders of the three parties feel that such a move would bind Montenegro all the closer to Milosevic's policies there, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from the Montenegrin capital. PM

KOSOVA'S ETHNIC ALBANIAN REFUGEES CLOSE TO CATASTROPHE
by Kitty McKinsey

        The scenes across much of the southern Serbian province of Kosova in recent days are reminiscent of the worst days of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Long lines of tractor-drawn carts slowly carrying terrified women and children away from the smoldering remains of their shelled and burned homes. Refugees cowering in forests with only the clothes on their back, little food or water, no medicine, and no shelter.
        Contrary to promises made by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic last week, the Serbian and Yugoslav offensive in Kosova is not over. In fact, observers on the scene say that the offensive has escalated, driving another 35,000-70,000 ethnic Albanians from their homes in recent days.
         According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the total number now displaced from their homes in more than five months of fighting could top 200,000. That figure includes those who have sought refuge in neighboring Albania and the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, as well as those on the move inside Kosova.
        With the escalation of the Serbian offensive, ethnic Albanians say the Serbs are no longer battling the separatist Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) but are concentrating on driving ethnic Albanian civilians from their homes. They say that Serbian forces are shelling and burning homes of ethnic Albanians who have already fled to ensure that they will not return.
        Moderate ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova charged that "Serbian forces kill civilians, burn and destroy settlements and entire villages, and carry out ethnic cleansing."
        Mans Nyberg, spokesman for the UNHCR in Prishtina, said he and his fellow aid workers have seen "countless houses burning in practically every village we passed through." He adds: "It is very difficult to see any sound military objective for such behavior by the Serbian police forces."
        Only in the last few days have international relief agencies been able to reach any of the fugitives hiding in the mountains and dense forests of Kosova. They have found desperate people camping in the open, sleeping under trees and even in dry river-beds, without any blankets, mattresses or tents. In one area, relief workers discovered that five women had given birth within the last four days. It is, Nyberg says, "a humanitarian catastrophe in the making."
        Mick Lorentzen, emergency coordinator for the UN's World Food Program in Prishtina, says that the main problem is that whole villages are on the move: "Within the mountain range itself, there's an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 people and this is not the only area that's being affected. People are moving every day. It's a changing situation. The forests are very, very dense, so it's sometimes hard to find them. How much longer are they going to stay out, nobody knows."
        Both Nyberg and Lorentzen agree that the fugitives are far too terrified and distrustful of Serbian authorities to return to their villages right now.
        Lorentzen says that while he was in the mountains delivering food to refugees on 2 August, the Yugoslav government air-dropped leaflets telling the refugees it was safe for them to return to their villages, and that if they did, they would be protected. As the refugees were reading the flyers, Lorentzen said, they could hear Serbian shelling just a kilometer away. Lorentzen concludes : "The people are just not going to return while this is going on." He also questions what they have to go home to after so much destruction by Yugoslav and Serb forces.
        Another major problem is that Serbian forces are routinely blocking attempts by aid agencies to reach people in distress. "This is very serious obstruction," says Nyberg. "President Milosevic has repeatedly assured the humanitarian organizations that they have free access, they can go anywhere they want. The same has been assured to us by the police commander in Prishtina. In spite of all this, it happens almost on a daily basis that our field teams are being stopped by police at checkpoints and being refused access."
        The UNHCR has added its voice to that of many countries around the world in appealing to Milosevic to halt the Serbian offensive and allow his ethnic Albanian citizens to live a normal life again.

The author is an RFE/RL senior correspondent.

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Betreff:         [ALBANEWS] Press:"Zeri i popullit",date 27.07.1998
Datum:         Wed, 5 Aug 1998 08:57:32 EDT
    Von:         Thoma Gellci <Gellci@AOL.COM>

Serb border provocation, Morina customs attacked

Serb border forces early on Sunday attacked by gun fire the Morina customs in Kukes district (Northeastern Albania) and several surrounding villages.
The event took place on Sunday at around 01.00 a.m., the police director of the Kukes Prefecture, Remzi Brahimi, said. The frontier Serb soldiers fired volleys of gunfire in the direction of the Morina customs building as well as the Rexhe and Shalqi villages.
The customs building is riddled with bullet holes. The inhabitants of these villages have sent the children and women to the Bardhoc village and they themselves have taken up arms and approached the border.
Upon receiving the news, at around 02.00 a.m. the Kukes police and division forces were rushed to the area. They called on the inhabitants of these villages not to respond to the Serb army fire.
Also, leading officials of the Public Order Ministry went to the spot to follow the situation closely.
One weak ago, on July 18, Serb artillery shells fell up to 500 m inside Albanian territory, in the zone of Tropoje (north of Kukes).
The Albanian government, in a statement, described these attacks as open provocations which aim to engulf Albania in the flames of a regional conflict and stressed it is ready to cope with any provocation and threat against Albania's integrity.
The Albanian government has regarded the Serb barbarous acts against the Kosova population as part of Belgrade's strategy of mass extermination and ethnic cleansing in Kosova.

Albania, NATO forces to launch joint exercises

The Albanian army and the NATO forces will start one-week military exercises codenamed "Coordinated cooperation" in Biza military base from August 17 to 22 in Tirana district.
Around 3000 troops of NATO member states' armies will take part in the exercises, initiated and organised by NATO, a spokesman of the Albanian Defence Ministry said.
Although the exercises would have a strong military character, it does not presuppose, in any way, preparation for an attack against another country, the spokesman said.
Defence, attack, encirclement, which are elements of peace-keeping, will be dealt with during the exercises, which have also humanitarian elements, the spokesman said.

KING ZOG ASKS COFI ANAN TO RECOGNIZE THE SELF DETERMINATION TO KOSOVA

TIRANE, 5 AUGUST/ENTER/ - The loyalist party accused tuesday the albanian government of not " reacting towards the genocide that is intensified everyday in Kosova".
PLL said that the albanian government does not talk with one voice,but is  spokesman of the international institutions.
PLL asks the creation of technical government to lead the country till the early elections are organized "because this government and parliament have consumed themselves". PLL said that international policy is giving free hand to Miloshevic and this is seen in the latest statements of the italian foreign minister Lamberto Dini.
PLL informed that Leka Zogu, the king of the albanians in emigration had sent a letter to the general secretary of UNO, Kofi Anan, asking him to RECOGNIZE the right of self determination to the albanian of Kosova.leka warned Anan that if the " european policy is combinet with incapability and the same stand will continue , then the conflict would spread".leka supports the war in Kosova saying that he is for the legitimate right of a people for self determination".

HOT WEATHER CREATES PROBLEMS AT THE ALBANIAN CHILDREN

TIRANE, 5 AUGUST/ENTER/ Over 80 albanian children had been hospitalized during the last 48 hours due to the high temperatures. The doctors said to Enter that the health problems are result of the very high temperatures of the albania these days.
Even the old people are suffering from heart problems and many of them had been hospitalized.Albania is for weeks now under a high pressure and the temperatures registered had been the highest in the last 15 years.The country is suffering at the same time by water supply lacking and electricity cuts which burden further the living conditions of the people.A big problem for the health of the local populations are the garbages which can be seen every where and that are the main source of epidemics.

BERISHA: THE DISAGREEMENTS ON KOSOVA MUST BE SOLVED

TIRANE,5 AUGUST ENTER/- The leader of the DP Sali berisha denounced tuesday the massacres in Kosova against the albanian population by the serb police and army.berisha called on the political forces in Kosova and the Liberation Army to find a joint language to solve the disagreements between them. berisha said that such a situation must end as soon as possible because from the disagreements of the albanian only Miloshevic had profit and no one else. Berisha called once more to NATO to intervene in Kosova in order to end the massacre against the civil albanian population. Commenting the proposal of the general secretary of the Socialist Pandeli Majko for a meeting between Nano and Berishai, the democrat leader said that Majko is used to making proposals.
On the problem of the disarmament of the population, berisha said that DP has its versions on this problem.

KOSOVA (Hill’s visit to Rahovec)
The tanks T-55 have been used against the Albanian villages

Prishtina, 4 August (ARTA) 2130CET--
"I will go to Malishevë and Rahovec, to explore the circumstances and the possibilities for return of IDPs", declared the American ambassador to Shkup, Christopher Hill today.
This time the American mediator for Kosova had a new mission announced after the meeting with "Yugoslav" president Milosevic and after the promises he got from him: the mission on the return of the IDPs people to their homes.
The American diplomat, before leaving to the field, declared that "he is sincerely worried", because as he said, "in case the return of the people will not succeed within the upcoming week or the next two weeks, we will face a humanitarian nightmare".
Nevertheless, some of the foreign journalists who escorted Hill were not allowed to go further into the flashpoints, which were on the itinerary of Ambassador Hill.
Hill also met some activists of LDK in Rahovec. In his visit, the former members of Albanian negotiating team, Veton Surroi and Blerim Shala accompanied him.
"I am here in Rahovec to consider the real circumstances for the return the people into their villages", said initially Hill after the meeting with the local activists. He repeated once again that if the process of returning of the dislocated fails, we will face a humanitarian catastrophe". He said also that he has heard reports about the massacres but he cannot say any more about such an issue.
"I haven't seen massive graves myself but, I have heard reports on that", emphasized he.
After the return in Prishtina from Rahovec, Hill had a press briefing at USIS Prishtina. He spoke of his experiences in Malishevë, Rahovec and the villages nearby.
He ascertained that "the situation continues to be very difficult", even though according to him, they saw " some signs of returns".
"In general, we think that the conditions must be much better, if we want the people to feel safe and return to their homes" emphasized Hill.
Ambassador Hill expressed understanding for, as he said, "the deep anxiety of the people for their safety, or for the activity of Serb security forces that are present there". "We saw many buildings through the villages and towns, which were still being burnt today" stated he.
"We haven't seen any sign of fighting today and we neither saw groups on the hills, but we realized that they are there", stressed Hill.
He also claimed that several humanitarian organizations "managed to get there and get food through".
Hill told how in one of the villages he visited, he had a conversation with some people that went there to get food and water for their families that were staying in the forest, almost three kilometers far from the village.
"They said that they are not ready to return their families back to the village, until better security conditions are created", he claimed.
The villagers described to the ambassador the attack over this village that took place last Wednesday. "Tanks were also used to conduct this attack. The villagers showed me a tank shell of `T-55'", said Hill.
By the end, the American ambassador said that he is "not planning to give any more details until he had a conversation with the officials in Washington".

KOSOVA (Hill's visit to Rahovec)
Surroi: We witnessed the torching and looting houses by the police

Prishtina, 4 August (ARTA) 2100CET--
"We were in Rahovec and Malishevë while the houses were burning. We saw policemen that were looting the shops around, besides the burnt houses", said Veton Surroi, former member of G-15, who accompanied American mediator, Hill, on his trip to these two towns.
"Before all", stated Surroi, "this operation was aiming at expelling Albanians and disable them from returning home", he evaluated in a press briefing in front of USIS Prishtina, after the trip.
"As far as I could see, their return back home seems completely impossible -- if their safety is not guaranteed. This can be done only with international presence. In Rahovec, we visited the family of one LDK member to discuss the chances for the return of the people that fled their homes. The people are scared and I don't believe that any one will dare to come back, if they are not guaranteed security", he added.
The visit was an unpleasant surprise for the Serb police and military in Malishevë.
"The police didn't expect us, for they were burning the houses as we approached". Surroi added that two house were burning in Malishevë, while on their way back, they spotted another four burning.
"I am frustrated by the fact that nothing is being done to change this reality. The burning of the houses is proof of systematic Serb actions, and also proves the mentality of the Serbian regime and its will to continue with these actions", Surroi expressed his concern, and continued saying that he doesn't believe that "Milosevic wishes to stop and will stop unless someone stops him".
"Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia had another dynamics: I wish not to compare Bosnia and Kosova, but this is the same part of the world", said Hill. He also stated that in Kosova, according to his information, there were 150 thousand IDPs.
He also stated that the situation in Drenica was very serious, where Serb forces continue their offensive against KLA. Meanwhile, people don’t dare to go back home. "We have 150 thousand IDPs in Kosova, without counting the 30 thousand that have found shelter in Mitrovicë, in the past two days".
Many journalists and political observers in Kosova and abroad consider that it is precisely Hill and the American politics that have given "green light" to Milosevic to start the last offensives against Albanians.
"The negotiating process broke after the Serb offensive, and if someone believes that we have supported this, they these people have no idea what a negotiating process is", Hill stated categorically. "Serbs have no military solution for KLA, although they think they do", said Hill.
Surroi, on the other hand, was skeptical. "Prekaz started with slaughter and then a lot of talk was heard. Now, after each action, we are witnessing war crimes", he said, explaining that in Rahovec alone, around 200 people were killed, according to witnesses.
"The majority of the killed were civilians. Many people were shelled and they were leaving on tractors", he said. "This is not leading to a humanitarian catastrophe, this is a humanitarian catastrophe", stated Surroi.
"The negotiating process has been halted because of the last Serb operations, but we won't give up and we must find a solution. We must find a political solution by all means", concluded Ambassador Hill.

KOSOVA (shelling - Drenica)
Non-stop shelling

Skënderaj\Gllogoc, 4 August (ARTA) 2020CET--
The situation in Drenica has reached the dimensions of a catastrophe. The attacks of the Serb police and military forces are persistently going on. Intensive fighting prevailed in Polac and Marinë, in the way to Rezallë and Likovc. Açarevë was also attacked from the direction of Klinë and it still continuing. Witnesses state that the Serb forces have strengthened yesterday the siege of village Llaushë and it is possible that Serb infantry have entered the village. The siege around Llaushë is being kept since 5 March when the massacre in Prekaz took place.
Yesterday, around 1700CET, tanks and armored vehicles of Serb military and police forces entered into Llaushë. The population of this village has run away, while as yet there is no information for the number of the killed and the wounded.
The flux of the escapees is pretty big. Since yesterday evening, whole columns of people are headed towards Mitrovicë. It is said also that some thousand people from the villages of Klinë are hiding in the forests near Rakinicë, Tushilë and Açarevë since the previous clashes. A witness who managed to get passed these areas says that among these inhabitants are mostly children and pregnant women who need medical help urgently.
In addition, it is stated that that the central part of Drenica is being shelled with heavy artillery even from Mokna. In Izbicë village, they are hundreds of people in the health station under the siege.
It is announced some EC observers had been in Likovc and they say that the situation in this village is a bit settled down now, probably because of the presence of the foreign observers.

KOSOVA (no return for IDPs – Rahovec)
The Serb police prevent Albanians from returning to Rahovec

Prizren, 4 August (ARTA) 1630CET--
The Serb police in Rahovec is conducting pressure and preventing Albanian residents from returning back home, by taking them for the so-called "informative talks", sources from the ground inform. During these conversations they are physically maltreated and threatened if they go back to Rahovec. There are also claims that the Serb police in Rahovec are looting everything they find inside the Albanian owned houses, even in those resided by people that have returned home.
On the other hand, two corpses were discovered this morning, one at the place called "Bllatë" and the other at the place called "Rimnik" in Rahovec proper.

KOSOVA (shelling – Deçan)
Deçan: New massacre in Bjeshkët e Nemuna (Coursed Mountains)

Deçan, 4 August (ARTA) 2000CET--
Last night, the Serb forces in the mountain of Miliçevc near the village of Isniq (municipality of Deçan), shot in the direction of Albanians that were fleeing their homes, killing at least three and wounding five, among which a 75 years old woman, sources from the ground inform. The corpses remained in the forest.
The forest also contains several thousands of people, mainly women, children and elderly that have abandoned their homes following the last Serb attack.
The Serb forces have attacked the majority of the villages of the municipality of Deçan, where Junik and the villages of the region of Voksh are suffering the most.
The attack over the villages of Deçan, today is of lower intensity.

KOSOVA (clashes – Gjakovë)
At least four killed

Gjakovë, 4 August (ARTA) 2045CET--
New victims are resulting from the Serb forces’ offensive against the villages of the Gjakovë municipality. The destruction of Albanian localities, abductions, having as a result only dust and ashes are the direct consequence of these actions. The Serb forces settled in Sukë e Biteshit, Çabrat, Sukë e Vogël have recommenced their offensive against the villages of Dushkajë e Gjakovës, of Rekë e Keqe and of Has. Presently, all it can be seen in the villages of Jabllanicë, Bardhaniq, Zhabel, Kramovik, Cërmjan etc., are shelled and burnt houses.
The flame of war has also taken over the villages of Hereç and Dujakë, municipality of Gjakovë. Many killed and wounded resulted from this attack.
So far, there are information about the killing of Sadri Aga (75), Jeton Hoxha (23) from Cërmjan, and two other young unidentified persons from Rakovinë.
Today the Serb snipers wounded a young boy at the suburban part of Gjakovë, called Piskotë.
Over 30.000 people, among which women, children and elderly, fled from dozens of villages of Rekë e Keqe, Dushkajë and Has. The streets of Gjakovë are flooded by IDPs.
At 1030CET, the Serb forces were seen filling a lorry full of young Albanians as tens of weapons were hanging out from the trunks of their vehicles. Nothing is known about these people ever since.

KOSOVA (IDPs in Mitrovicë)
160 persons sheltered in one household

Mitrovicë, 4 August (ARTA) 1620CET--
The arrival of the fugitives from Drenica into Mitrovicë is continuing with the same intensity. The citizens of Mitrovicë and the neighboring villages, have widely opened their houses to give shelter to "newcomers" from the flash points which are being bombarded by the Serb military.
The stories of the fugitives are really horrible.
Xhemile Berisha an old woman from Dobërdol, tells that she and her family had, for three days and nights, eaten the wheat they found on the fields.
Fourteen-years-old Drita saved her 10-member family by driving the tractor herself from the village Kastriot (Mitrovicë municipality).
A unique story is that Zize Rraci - a pregnant woman with her 8 children (aged 5-15 years) from Siçevë (Klinë): "We stayed in the forest in the place called Tuneli near Ujëmirë, eight long days. Then the police and the Chetnik military started to shell it. After that, we had to move in the nearby forests. One old man was killed during the shelling". Mother Zize is actually in the maternity and is about to give birth to her ninth child.
The accommodation facilities of the escapees are very poor. There are cases of families giving shelter to 160 people while dozens of other families have sheltered at least 40 persons.
The pregnant women are in the worst conditions, as Mitrovicë urgently needs gynecologists. Even though this is the sixth day since the dislocated people have started to come in Mitrovicë, no humanitarian association has helped these people so far.

KOSOVA (hunger threat – Lipjan)
Hunger is threatening more than the conflict

Lipjan, 4 August (ARTA) 1720CET--
Besides the fear of a general eruption of the situation in this region, Lipjan is also facing the threat of starvation. The continuous influx of thousands of Albanian civilians dislocated from the conflict zones (the municipalities of Skënderaj, Gllogoc, Malishevë and recently also from Rahovec) has deteriorated even more the situation in the villages of this region.

The village Ribar i Madh has registered more than 7000 dislocated, who don't have enough space to sleep even in the gardens. In Rufc, there are more then 2000, while in Kraishtë over 3000 IDPs. Local sources claim that over 6500 tractors loaded with children, women and elderly are actually attempting to penetrate into the villages of Lipjan – considered as safer zones, from the direction of Kishnarekë. It is stated that the majority of these people originally come from Rahovec.

The villages Shalë, Rusinoc, Baincë, Krojmir, Vërshec, Qylagë, Magurë, Mirenë are reported empty. Many took advantage of the negligence of the Serb police and have gone through the plains where they found shelter, however there are still people in the forests -- just temporarily "safe" from the Serb police attacks.

If the international humanitarian organizations don’t intervene urgently with food and hygienic items, IDPs who are presently staying in the villages of Lipjan will face a humanitarian catastrophe.
 

KOSOVA (IDPs in forests – Klinë)
12 thousand escapees in the forest

Klinë, 4 August (ARTA) 2200CET--
The villages of Gjurgjevik i Madh, Gllarevë, Rigjevë, Stapanicë, Cerrovik, Çabiq, Zabërgjë, Ujëmirë, Dobërdol, Siçevë, Dush, Shatricë, Jashanicë, Kërrnicë, Jellovc and Resnik, municipality of Klinë, were massively burned during the Serb offensive. Over 30 thousand people have fled in the direction of the forest of Drenica. Women, children and elderly have remained under the wide-open sky without any food, water or medicine. The situation is getting more tragic every time, since there are many wounded among them.
Over 12 thousands of people for the fifth day now have been sheltered in the forest of Cerrovik and Çabiq i Klinës. They live under very inhumane conditions and have urgent needs for assistance in food and medicine.

KOSOVA (IDPs – Fushë Kosovë)
There is no safe place for the escapees

Fushë Kosovë, Obiliq, 4 August (ARTA) 1530CET--
The villages of Graboc i Ulët, Graboc i Epërm, Sibovc, Hade, Shipitull, Zhilivodë and the large part of the forest surrounding these villages, have been a target of the Serb snipers for a month now.
"The police is constantly attacking the mentioned villages from their positions at the place called `Kërshi' and from `Elektrokosova'", stated for "KOHA Ditore", the CDHRF chairman in Obiliq, Hajredin Mjeku. Mjeku also notes the "humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place as a result of the great number of escapees".
Under these conditions, the residents of these villages were forced to abandon their houses and head to the less threatened places. However, after the late Serb offensive, the escapees are left with no safe place to shelter themselves.

KOSOVA (IDPs – Suharekë/Malishevë)
Around 10.000 dislocated people only in the village Kravasari and its vicinity .

Suharekë, 4 August (ARTA) 1600CET --
The "Koha Ditore " sources learnt that after the Serb offensive, Serb police and paramilitary are continuing to burn and plunder Bllacë. The representatives of the Emergency Council stated that over 120 houses were burnt and destroyed, while a considerable number of them were significantly damaged.
Nonetheless, it is stated that hundreds of cattle and other livestock have been killed and now are rotting.
The entire population of this village has fled their homes and temporarily have found shelter in the neighboring villages, while a large number of them are still staying in the near forests without any basic living conditions, under the fear of the possible diseases or epidemics.
In the area between the municipality of Suharekë and that of Malishevë presently there are thousands of escapees. According to local sources, in Semetisht there are 1.500 IDPs, mainly women, children and elderly, while in Nishor there are more then 2000 dislocated people. Our sources state also that they are 500 dislocated people in Kosterc, while in Kravasari, it is estimated that over 10.000 people that were targeted by the Serb police and military found temporary shelter.

KOSOVA (detention – Ferizaj)
Another two months detention for the arrested

Ferizaj, 4 August (ARTA) 1845CET--
According to the attorneys, the detention terms for the ten arrested from Ferizaj was extended for two more months, by decision of the District Law Court in Prishtina. This act is justified "with the need for additional investigation".
Accordingly, these persons will undergo two more months of custody: Cen Dugolli, Haxhi Bytyçi, Enver Topalli, Ahmet Hoxha, Ylber Topalli and Sylejman Bytyçi, while the eleventh arrested person Rexhep Bislimi died last week, as a consequence of the tortures he was subjected to in prison.
Furthermore, the defending attorneys informed that, based on a special decision of the Investigating Judge, they were "limited any contacts with clients", they were denied contacts with witnesses, they were banned the access to all files as well as scrutinizing the facts which serve as proof".

KOSOVA (tense situation – Pejë)
Insecurity rises

Pejë, 4 August (ARTA) 2100CET--
"Koha Ditore" sources claim that wounded policemen (it is supposed 23), were brought to Pejë hospital, in a very bad health condition. However, no official information was issued on the above. As the same source informs, in the course of these two past days, four corpses of policemen have been sent in the morgue of Pejë hospital. Serb information sources confirmed the death of two policemen.
Presently, in town, the feeling of insecurity is overwhelming, while the raids and ill treatments have forced the citizens to flee in various directions.
Because Serb forces are controlling all the entries and the exits of the town, the access to Deçan is restricted. However, there are claims that in the Catholic church of the village of Gllogjan, several grenades were fired in the time when many sheltered women, children and elderly were inside.

KOSOVA (burial – Prizren)
Nexhat Fanaj buried

Prizren, 4 August (ARTA) 1815CET--
Nexhat Fanaj, from Kobaj (municipality of Dragash), killed during the clashes between the Serb forces and KLA units in the village of Buçe e Opojës on 28 July, was buried this morning at the cemetery of Kobaj.
The corpse was found yesterday in the forests around the bordering area with Albania. According to the local Albanian sources, because of the confusing situation and the security circumstances the funeral was attended by a symbolic number of people of this area.

KOSOVA (no contact with Rukiqi)
Rukiqi can’t be visited

Prishtina, 4 August (ARTA) 2115CET--
Attorney Destan Rukiqi, started serving his sentence on 23 July, immediately following the first instance verdict of the Misdemeanors Court in Prishtina. As a consequence of the physical mistreatments he was subjected to, Rukiqi was hospitalized last week.
His attorneys claim that his health condition is critical, but that he has been disconnected from the dialysis equipment. However, none of the attorneys had access to his room, and the doctors in charge of his recovery conveyed the information to them.
The defending attorneys state that they were banned any contact with their client by the Prishtina Jail Warden.

US engaged in a diplomatic solution to Kosova issue

      TIRANA, Aug 4 (ATA) - By E. Koraqi: Political director of the U.S. State Department for Southeastern Europe Lawrence Rossin  highly praised Albania's position as regards the Kosova issue, according to a spokesman of Defence Ministry.
      "The United States are engaged in a diplomatic solution to the Kosova issue," Rossin said to Luan Hajdaraga, Albanian Defence Minister on Tuesday.
      Referring to the tense situation in Kosova, the minister of  Defence Hajdaraga focused on the measures adopted by the government and Ministry of Defence on protection of army depots, prevention of illegal traffic of weapons and avoiding any kind of  provocation in the border.
      He praised the U.S. support in opening the U.S. Assistance office in the Defence Ministry and the NATO Coordination Office as the only one of that kind in the Southeastern Europe.
      Present at the meeting were U.S. ambassador in Tirana, Marisa Lino, U.S. military attache Colonel Applegate as well as senior officials of the Defence Ministry. ypa/das/ak/

Attn: The Ambassadors of the Contact Group Countries in Belgrade

Dear Sirs,

     The destroying offensive of the Serbian army and police continues in the villages of the district of Deçan and Gjakova and those of Lugu i Baranit near Peja. Tens of villages are on fire and tens of other villages are incessantly shelled for two days now. All kinds of weaponry are used, including Kaqusha surface-to- surface missiles. For the last two days, the following villages were shelled: Gjocaj, Jasiq, Junik, Prejlep, Rastavica, Carrabreg i Posht‰m, Baballoq, Irzniq, Voksh (district of Deçan), Kpuz, Qeskova, Dellova (district of Klina), Jabllanica, Bardhaniq, Zhabel, Cerrman i Dushkajës (district of Gjakova). The attacks continue and the fate of hundreds of people that remain stuck in the Catholic Church in Gllogjan near Peja is very disturbing. These people are surrounded by the Serbian army for 24 hours now and we do not have any information whether they are dead or alive.
     For the last two days, thousands of refugees arrived in those few villages yet not affected by war. Thousands of people from the district of Deçan and other neighbouring districts wander with no solution on how to escape and avoid the Serbian madness, as the border zone with Albania is completely mined. People from the following villages of the border zone: Rracaj, Nivokaz, Dallashaj, Smolicë, Junik, arrived yesterday afternoon. They and other Albanians were left under the open sky.
     In such a situation, tens of thousands of Albanians, who have sought shelter in forests and fields, without any food and medical care, fear of being massacred by the Serbian forces.
     If you are willing to save these thousands of Albanian civilians, 90% of whom are women, children and elderly, we once again appeal to you to use your authority to prevent Serbia from repeating Bosnia. There is no time left, either life or death for the Albanian civilians who were left to the mercy of fate.
     The fate of thousands of inhabitants of this district depend on you, the USA, NATO, Contact Group, UN and other international mechanisms.
     I have faith in you. I believe that you will save these people.

Musa Berisha
chairan of the Sub-CDHRF in Deçan

REPORT NO. 427

ON THE WIDESPREAD REPRESSION AND HARASSMENT PERPETRATED BY
THE SERBIAN POLICE AND OTHER AUTHORITIES IN KOSOVA
FROM JULY 26, UNTIL AUGUST 2, 1998

        The text you can read at  week427.htm

Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, New York 10118
Telephone: (212) 216-1267
Facsimile: (212) 736-1300
E-mail: Abrahaf@hrw.org

August 5, 1998

NEW KOSOVO WEBSITE

      * Updated human rights conditions
      * Standards of international law
      * Work of the War Crimes Tribunal
      * Background
      * Important links
      * Tri-lingual

August 5, 1998

Human Rights Watch has set up a special web site dedicated to the human rights dimension of the conflict in Kosovo. It provides updated information about violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as background on the crisis.  Sections also explain the standards of international law for all parties in an internal armed conflict and the relevant work of the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, whose mandate covers Kosovo. The site's address is:

http://www.hrw.org/hrw/campaigns/kosovo98/index.htm

If you have any questions, please contact
Fred Abrahams at (1-212) 216-1270 or Alex Frangos at (212) 216-1844.

Reports: Mass graves discovered in Kosovo
07:09 a.m. Aug 05, 1998 Eastern

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian, German and Swedish newspapers said on Wednesday graves containing more than 500 bodies had been found near a Kosovo town where Serbian forces defeated separatist guerrillas in a pitched battle.
     The Austrian daily Die Presse said its correspondent on Tuesday visited a rubbish tip some 700 meters (yards) from Orahovac town. Bodies were still being buried there.
     Germany's daily Tageszeitung and Sweden's Expressen carried similar reports, which could not be independently confirmed.
     "Shocked gravediggers believe they counted more than 567 people, 430 of them children in one of the (graves)," Die Presse said.
     Thousands of ethnic Albanians, who make up 80 percent of Orahovac's peacetime population of 20,000, fled the town after a bid by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to take control was beaten off by Serbian security forces last month.
     Die Presse quoted inhabitants who stayed put as saying the Serbs had killed 1,000 civilians between July 18 and July 21.
     At the dump, bulldozers had covered the two mass graves with earth but several corpses were still lying above ground and could be smelt from a distance, the conservative broadsheet said.
     Unusually intense heat had accelerated the decomposition.
     Die Presse said members of a team charged with clearing the bodies said corpses were still being brought from cellars and houses in Orahovac and the nearby town of Prizren.
     The newspaper also cited "non-Albanian sources" as saying Serbian special security forces used human shields as they drove the KLA out of Orahovac.
     It said the Serbs then carried out house-to-house searches, exterminating whole families.
     Swedish newspaper Expressen said the residents remaining in Orahovac
estimated about 200 civilians were killed, with many of the victims then
taken to the rubbish tip.
     "Survivors from the massacre at Orahovac tell how load after load of corpses were driven here and buried under broken glass, rotting vegetables and gravel," wrote Expressen's reporter Niclas Lovkvist.
     "I estimated there were about 36 marked graves in the tip... marked by simple wood stakes with a number and sometimes a name. The markings were probably to give the impression that the graves were 'normal' rather than buried in a great hurry."
     Fatmir Shehu, one of the few Albanians still left in Orahovac, told Expressen how soldiers raided the town.
     "The soldiers went from house to house. They plundered and ordered everyone out into the street," Shehu said.
     "Then they were shot by the soldiers that were wearing black headbands and even by civilian Serbs.
     "There are two more mass graves with victims from Orahovac further south, toward Prizren."
     The European Union said on Wednesday it was sending observers back to the Kosovo town of Orahovac to check the reported discovery of two mass graves.
     Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country holds the EU presidency, will also discuss the reports with his French and British counterparts later in the day, diplomats told Reuters.
     Meanwhile, Russia stepped up diplomatic efforts to stop fighting in Kosovo on Wednesday.
     Moscow's deputy foreign minister, Nikolai Afanasyevsky, was to meet Yugoslav officials in Belgrade before traveling to Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital, for talks with ethnic Albanian leader.
     International observers, meanwhile, expressed concern about the number of houses, deserted by ethnic Albanian refugees, they have seen burning as they travel through the province.
     U.S. envoy Chris Hill said on Tuesday after he visited Orahovac that he was disturbed by the signs of destruction in Kosovo.
     "We observed a number of structures in villages and towns that were burning," he told reporters.
     Western demands for a cease-fire in Kosovo, a Serbian province with a 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority, appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
     Clashes between Serbian security forces and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas continued throughout the province on Tuesday, a day after the United States, European Union and others had pushed for an end.
     Refugees have fled the fighting, crossing Kosovo's hilly terrain in rickety carts and seeking shelter where they could find it. Aid agencies estimated that some 70,000 people have been displaced over the last week alone.
     The total number of people displaced since clashes began in February is said to be about 180,000.
     In the closest thing to an official answer to Western demands, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic said attempts to put down the insurgency were a justified defense of national sovereignty.
     "We will suppress any violence in Kosovo... We shall win this battle," he was quoted as saying by the official Yugoslav news agency Tanjug.
     Russia, a traditional Serb ally, has been trying to negotiate a peaceful solution but strongly opposed any military intervention by the West, which has threatened to use NATO force if necessary.
     German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, however, was quoted as saying on Tuesday that there should be no outside military strikes against Serbian forces without full United Nations backing.
     And that backing, he said, would not come in the near future because of Russian opposition to any such action.

 
Freshly Dug Mass Graves Found in Kosovo
Anonymous Plots Suggest More Rebel Casualties Than Reported by Serb Officials

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, August 5, 1998; Page A15

ORAHOVAC, Yugoslavia—The 12 thin wooden sticks are barely noticeable near the entrance to the central garbage dump east of this town in the Serbian province of Kosovo. The carcasses of two bloated, foul-smelling cows block the path, but a visitor can get close enough to see markings carved with a knife into each stick that suggest a corpse lies in the ground directly underneath.
     The markings read "3 NN," "15 NN" and so on, denoting to Serbian-speakers that the bodies are those of unidentified people. Farther down the path are five more large plots excavated by a red steam shovel, each marked by a series of 21 larger wooden signs bearing a four-digit number and the name of a dead person.
     Similar graves also were dug several weeks ago at a cemetery in the Kosovo town of Prizren where ethnic Albanians from the immediate area -- including Orahovac -- traditionally have been buried. Ten markers have been placed in the soil there, but only six bear names.
     A witness has reported that three bodies interred at the cemetery were wearing the uniform of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the ethnic-Albanian guerrilla group battling for Kosovo's independence from Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia. All the bodies in Prizren were buried by the government with no independent observers present.
     The existence of at least 33 fresh graves in Orahovac, reportedly dug July 30, is not startling by itself. Nor are the fresh graves in Prizren. Serbian authorities have said 60 people died during three days of fighting between Serbian security forces and ethnic-Albanian separatist guerrillas in and around the town, beginning July 17, that ended with Serbian units overrunning the town.
     But the dumping of so many bodies in such apparent haste -- without traditional Muslim rites and with no family members present -- has raised troubling questions among the region's ethnic-Albanian residents. Rumors are swirling among them that far more people died in Orahovac than Serbian authorities have acknowledged.
     Several witnesses said they saw tractors roaming the streets of the town to pick up corpses a few hours before police allowed foreign journalists to enter Orahovac on the afternoon of July 21. A Western official who tried to enter that morning remembers that two foul-smelling trucks passed him on the way out of town, and he said he has concluded from various reports by local citizens that they contained corpses.
     Two residents have separately told different journalists they have firsthand knowledge that the number of corpses taken from the city after the fighting and buried clandestinely exceeds 100.
     But there is no evidence of mass graves containing such a large number of bodies. Journalists and international monitors have been prevented from searching the area because huge portions of the region remain under the control of special army or paramilitary troops, rendering them off-limits.
     The graves that have been discovered, which were dug by the red steam shovel still parked at the site, are clearly large enough to contain more than the number of corpses indicated by the markers. But a concrete slab has been pulled across the top of the plot, impeding any effort to probe the freshly compacted soil.

© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company

Taken without permission, for fair use only.

Some Aid Reaches Kosovo Refugees

Filed at 6:03 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press

QIREZ, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Ethnic Albanian refugees swarmed a truck laden with food, infant formula and medicine Tuesday, desperately seeking help after Serb police permitted aid workers into a besieged valley in Kosovo.
     Serb police have been barring or slowing aid groups and diplomatic observers from reaching tens of thousands of refugees driven from villages in the Yugoslav province, where ethnic Albanian rebels are fighting for independence.
     The International Committee of the Red Cross reached the valley near Qirez, but fighting stymied plans by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to send an aid convoy to Malisevo -- a former Kosovo Liberation Army stronghold that fell to the Serbs in the current offensive.
     "We cannot go into a battlefield," refugee agency spokesman Kris Janowski said in Geneva. He compared the situation in Kosovo to what happened in 1992 in Bosnia, when Bosnian Serb forces embarked on a policy of trying to empty areas of their non-Serb populations.
     "If this is an attempt to drive Kosovo Albanians out of Kosovo ... that would be total lunacy," Janowski said.
     Qirez -- a village located about 14 miles northwest of the regional capital of Pristina -- is in a refugee-filled valley in the western Kosovo region of Drenica. The region is the target of a Serb onslaught against the rebels that is now in its ninth day. Serb forces are showing no signs of relenting, despite Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's promise last week to stop.
     In Washington on Monday, the Clinton administration announced that NATO had approved a plan to use firepower against Serb forces in Kosovo because of the worsening refugee crisis.
     NATO bombardment helped drive Milosevic into negotiations to end the ethnic war in Bosnia in 1995. But officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, said there was no military action planned at this stage for Kosovo.
     When aid workers arrived Tuesday in Qirez, they found hundreds of desperate people. Refugees crowded around a truck loaded with boxes of infant medicine and food and hygiene products such as toothpaste, soap and shampoo. Many people here have been subsisting on a diet of water and green peppers.
     Drenica, historically a center of ethnic Albanian nationalism, is the largest area still under KLA control. From the hilltops, smoke was visible Tuesday from burning villages -- including the former stronghold of Lausa -- now overrun by Serb police in a symbolic defeat for the KLA.
     Last November, the secretive rebel group made its first public appearance in the village. Wearing their uniform of camouflage or all-black and berets with the red KLA patch, fighters attended the funeral of a local schoolteacher shot in a Serb crackdown.
     One man from Lausa, Gani Gecha, said Tuesday that Serb helicopters sprayed the village with a chemical substance that burned people's eyes and throats and made them nauseous.
     Gecha claimed Serb forces killed or kidnapped 100 to 200 people in the Lausa attack, firing missiles and burning houses. The KLA "tried to defend the village but it was too hard," he said, explaining that rebels have only automatic rifles that cannot match the Serb arsenal.
     Milosevic sent forces to crush the KLA in March. Kosovo, located in Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia, has a population of 2 million. Albanians outnumber Serbs 9-to-1.
     After declaring the province on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill on Tuesday visited a town captured by Serbs last week to assess the conditions for the return of refugees.
     "Some people have begun to return, but if we are going to have more people returning, we have to improve the conditions very quickly," he said after his trip to Orahovac, the site of some of the ugliest fighting in the five-month war.
     Veton Surroi, a prominent ethnic Albanian politician, claimed Tuesday that at least 200 people were killed in Orahovac, most of them in a mosque where they had taken refuge.
     In Vienna, Austria, the respected newspaper Die Presse said reporters had found fresh graves of more than 500 people, including children, in the Orahovac area.
     A Serb police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said police had buried "a number of bodies" in the area after no one claimed them after more than a week.
     Moderate Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, who met with Hill on Tuesday, blamed the Serbs for worsening the problem in Kosovo and demanded "energetic intervention" by the United States and its allies.
 

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