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February 29
- Russia has condemned another crime
committed by the Albanian extremists in Southern Serbia. As a result of
an attack on a police patrol on Sunday a policeman was killed and another
three injured in the village of Konchul. The Foreign Ministry expressed
concern over the growing violence in the Serbian regions near Kosovo. It
demanded that emergency measures be taken to end violence in Kosovo itself
and prevent it from spreading to regions outside the province.
February 28
- Forces of the outlawed Kosovo Liberation
Army, which continue to exist as the NATO-led Kosovo Force looks on, are
planning raids into mostly Albanian-populated areas in the southeast of
Serbia proper. According to diplomatic sources in London, special KLA foundations
have started disbursing funds for the planned attacks… The provocations
are apparently aimed at destabilizing Serbia and embroiling it in a military
conflict with NATO. A Serbian policeman is reported to have died in an
overnight cross-border attack into Serbia by ethnic Albanian gangs.
- Kosovo Albanians are continuing
massacres of Serbs with the connivance of international peace-keepers,
the bulk of which is formed of NATO contingents. On Saturday night a group
of terrorist penetrated from Kosovo into a border region of Serbia, attacked
a police patrol and killed a policemen. Three people were injured. In the
city of Gnilan in Kosovo a Serbian doctor was killed, he was of the five
doctors who remained in the local hospital. The guiding body of the Kosovo
Serbs, the Serbian National Council, lay responsibility for a sway of terrorism
in the region on the KFOR which has not taken any measures to stop it.
February 26
- Russia may pull its peacekeeping
force out of Kosovo if the situation in the Yugoslav province fails to
change for the better. This came in a statement yesterday by the Secretary
of the Russian Security Council Sergey Ivanov. According to him, ethnic
cleanings of the Kosovo indigenous population are continuing with the connivance
of the KFOR international force in the Serbian province, and Yugoslavia's
territorial integrity continues to be violated. This runs counter to the
national interests of Russia, which insists that no action has been taken
on the UN resolution on the inviolability of Yugoslavia's political and
territorial integrity.
25 February
- Ethnic Serbs of the city of Kosovska
Mitrovitsa have taken to the streets to protest the latest attempts to
drive them out of their home city and the inability of the international
peacekeeping contingent to put an and to the violence. Serb leader Oliver
lvanovic says the Serbs will meet the challenge of terror and harassment.
Tension mounted in Kosovska Mitrovitsa when ethnic Albanians gunned down
two Serbs, on the 2nd of this month. Men of the NATO-led K-For contingent
searched the Serb neighborhood of Kosovska Mitrovitsa for, presumably,
weapons. The lower house of the Russian legislature has decided to form
an ad hoc commission which will take a look into the Kosovar developments.
- The leader of the Serbian community
in Kosovska Mitrovica Oliver Ivanovic held talks on Thursday with a special
representative of the UN secretary general in Kosovo Bernard Coushner and
commander of KFOR, Klaus Reinhardt. Later he said at a news conference
that attention was given to ways of reducing ethnic tension. Ivanovic rejected
the idea of opening a bridge for pedestrians across the Ibar river which
separates the Serbian and Albanian residential quarters. In his opinion
that would only increase danger for the Serbian minority against which
the Albanians constantly stage provocations. Russia's Foreign Ministry
expressed concern over the situation in Kosovska Mitrovica on Wednesday.
24 February
- The international peacekeepers
in Kosovo have completed an arms confiscation operation in Kosovska Mitrovica
but there has been no word as to the exact quantity of firearms confiscated.
Earlier reports put the number at more than 20 assault rifles, several
hand grenades and two machineguns. Mitrovica became a flash point of ethnic
tension in Kosovo after the Albanian extremists repeatedly attacked local
Serbs and French peacekeepers deployed in the town.
- Moscow is worried about the mounting
tension in the city of Kosovska Mitroviña. The Russian Foreign Ministry
has pointed out that the international peacekeeping contingent has been
unable to insure the safety of Serb civilians in that city. It put the
blame for the mounting tension on the ethnic Albanians' provocative moves
which have failed to receive a proper appreciation from chief UN emissary
in Kosovo Bernard Coushner. Unless steps are taken to establish tolerance
in relation between the different ethnic communities the northern neighborhoods
of Kosovska Mitroviña may be cleansed of Serb presence, something that
has already happened in many other cities of Kosovo.
23 February
- Russia-Britain talks will take
place is Moscow today. Acting president Vladimir Putin and foreign minister
Igor Ivanov will met with Britain's foreign secretary Robin Cook who has
arrived in Moscow. The ITAR-TASS news agency says the side will discuss
questions connected with the European Union, NATO and the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Russia's relations with those organizations
worsened following NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia and the attempts
of the West to put pressure on Russia because of its counter-terrorist
operation in Chechnya. Before flying to Moscow on Tuesday, Robin Cook expressed
the belief that the Russian leader is showing clear readiness for contacts
with the West. And he added that Putin is a leader with which the West
could deal with.
- Russia and Greece expressed serious
concern on Tuesday about events in Kosovo. The foreign ministries of the
two countries pointed to the attempts to drive out of Kosovska Mitrovets
the Serbian community, one of the last remaining in Kosovo after last year's
NATO aggression. This week one hundred thousand enraged Albanians carrying
the flags of Albania and the United States rehearsed the storming of the
Serbian quarter of the city. NATO peace-keepers responsible for security
in the area of Kosovska Mitrovets give no guarantees that the second storming
of the Serbian quarter by Albanians wouldn't lead to a mass the slaughter
of Serbs. What is more a temporary administrative body of Kosovo, consisting
of Albanians only and in which representatives of NATO also take par have
passed a decision on free movement through the city. That means the peace-keepers
standing at the entrance to the Serbian quarter of the city - could be
removed.
22 February
- NATO helps to spread information
that the Albanian minority in southern Serbia is subjected to violence.
It spread also rumors about the possible deployment of Yugoslav forces
along the border of Kosovo. Such a propagandistic campaign was launched
last year before the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia.
- 60 thousand ethnic Albanians ceased
their attempt to force in the Serbian part of the city of Kosovska-Mitrovica
only by Monday evening. Furious Albanians carried national flags of the
United States and Albania, and threw stones at British and French peacekeepers
who blocked the road toward the bridge linking the Serbian part with armored
vehicles. International soldiers in Mitrovica in northern Kosovo have used
tear gas to prevent Albanians from reaching a Serb-dominated area.There
are casualties among both Albanians and peacekeepers. About one hundred
thousand Albanians, including those who arrived from Pristina and other
cities tried to drive out Serbs from the city of Kosovska-Mitrovica. The
American peacekeepers responsible for the sector do not put obstacles to
Albanian armed extremists to stage rallies.
21 February
- The head of the United Nations
Civil Administration in Kosovo Bernard Couchner has said that all signs
are that the recent interethnic clashes in the city Kosovska Mitrovica
have been planned in advance. Speaking in an interview with a radio station
in Paris he also voiced hope that order would soon be restored in the city.
The almost two week long wave of violence was triggered by Albanian extremists'
action. Earlier this month they used grenade-launchers to attack a bus
with Serbs and killed two passengers, and then hurled hand grenades at
the homes of Serbs in the city. Now the international force KFOR is engaged
in an unprecedented - operation scale-wise in Kosovoska Mitrovica to seize
arms from the local population.
20 February
- Three more Serbs are reported to
have been killed by Albanian extremists in Kosovo. A KFOR representative
said in Pristina on yesterday the body of one of the Serbs was found in
his own car near the town of Poduyevo in the north-east of the province.
The other two were shot dead in cold blood from automatic rifles near the
town of Liplyan as they were stocking up firewood. 10 Albanians have been
arrested by KFOR.
18 February
- Kosovo will always be an integral
part of Yugoslavia. This is said in the program of the ruling Socialist
party of Serbia approved by the party's fourth Congress held in Belgrade
on Thursday. The party's priorities in foreign policy will be protecting
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and strongly resisting
separatism and terrorism. The intention is stressed to develop cooperation
with friendly countries, and first of all Russia and China which act in
defense of Yugoslavia's lawful interests on the international scene. The
President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic has been again elected chairman
the Socialists party of Serbia.
- Heightened security measures have
been taken in Kosovska Mitrovica where the Albanians have lately attacked
Serbs. The number of peacekeepers has been increased since Thursday. The
curfew has been extended and mass gatherings of people banned. Outburst
of violence was provoked by the killing of two Serbs by Albanians on February
2nd. The bus on which they were riding with other passengers came under
fire of a grenade launcher. And last week a group of Albanian crossed into
the Serbia part of the city and threw grenades into several houses. The
Albanian sharpshooters wounded two French soldiers who tried to stop the
violence.
17 February
- Moscow has demanded that the United
Nations Security Council should step up efforts to protect ethnic minorities
in Kosovo. Russia's representative at the United Nations Sergey Lavrov
has said that the latest interethnic clashes in the city Kosovska Mitrovica
have shown just how inefficient the UN mission and the international peacekeeping
force have been in their action against Albanian extremists. The Russian
diplomat has also pointed out that the NATO-based international force has
failed to disarm the clandestine "Kosovo Liberation Army" and
do not repulse attempts to tear the province away from Yugoslavia.
- Yugoslavia's overall damage from
last year's NATO military operation and economic sanctions makes up almost
200 billion dollars. According to estimates by the Yugoslav Federal Institute
of Statistics, the direct damage from bombing raids reaches 100 billion
dollars the losses from the sanctions make up another 92 billion dollars.
- The United Nations authority in
Kosovo is sending 300 more policemen to the city of Kosovska Mitrovitsa
where ethnic Albanians raised arms against French peacekeepers who had
been keeping them from breaking their way into the Serb part of the city.
Two Frenchmen were wounded. The peacekeepers return fire shooting down
dead one of the attacking Albanians. About 800 non-Albanian residents of
Kosovska Mitrovitsa, by and large Serbs, have killed in the 10 months of
the NATO control of Kosovo. Many Serbs have fled their home province.
16 February
- The number of terrorist acts in
Kosovo increased all times since the peace-keeping forces mainly those
of NATO were deployed in the Serbian province. This was stated by a representative
of Yugoslavia Vladislav Iovanovic at the UN headquarters in New York. In
his opinion this happened because NATO-forces refused to disarm the terrorists
organization of the Albanians "The Kosovo Liberation Army" and
transformed into a police corps to maintain peace in the province. Since
NATO forces were stationed in Kosovo, some 800 persons were killed and
784 wounded, mainly Serbs and other non-Albanians.
February 15
- An ambulance believed to be owned
by Kosovo Albanians has proved to be a vehicle for transporting explosives
and ammunition. Soldiers of the Kosovo Force made the discovery when they
found the minivan overturned and abandoned by the roadside. It had apparently
been travelling from Pristian to the northern town of Mitrovica, the scene
of heavy ethnic clashes unleashed by ethnic Albanian gangs. The Kosovo
Force has again warned the ethnic Albanian community against resorting
to force in dealing with local Serbs. Violence, it says, removes the prospects
of peace in Kosovo.
- The command of the international
security force in Kosovo, KFOR, has warned ethnic Albanians that military
actions are inadmissible and stressed that such actions undermine the efforts
to restore peace in the region. KFOP troops have tightened security following
clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in the town of Kosovska Mitrovica
on Sunday. The clashes were provoked by ethnic Albanians who threw grenades
at Serb houses, wounding at least 10 people. Ethnic Albanians also shot
and wounded two French soldiers serving with KFOR. KFOR servicemen have
arrested 40 ethnic Albanians. Three hundred United Nations policemen have
been sent to the town.
February 14
- International troops in Mitrovica
in northern Kosovo have carried out an operation to round up ethnic Albanian
marksmen, who are believed to be responsible for the wounding of two French
soldiers on Sunday. French peace-keepers are known to have killed one and
wounded at least four sniping terrorists when they returned the fire. According
to the Kosovo Force, officers have started investigating yesterday's ethnic
clashes in which ethnic Albanian extremist profusely tossed hand grenades
at houses owned by Serbs. Some 40 of the attackers are under arrest.
- Yugoslavia has demanded an urgent
United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss and take measures to
prevent acts of terror against Kosovo Serbs. Albanians in the city Kosovska
Mitrovica attacked Serbs' homes with grenades, More than 10 people were
injured in the clashes that followed. Also two French soldiers of the international
peacekeeping force KFOR were wounded by Albanian snipers. The peacekeepers
returned the fire, killed one of the Albanian marksmen and detained four
others. The curfew in the city has been prolonged by another week. Earlier
this month Albanians used a grenade-launcher to fire at a bus with Serbs
and killed two people.
February 12
- The lower house of the Russian
legislature - the State Duma - is worried about the gross violations by
some western democracies of the UN Security Council resolutions on Kosovo.
It pointed out Friday that there was no end to acts of violence against
ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, that Albanians separatism was on the rise and conditions
were being created for the secession of Kosovo from Yugoslavia. The demand
was ignored for the disarmament of the illegally formed Kosovo Liberation
Army. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also voiced disillusionment
Friday over what was happening in Kosovo.
February 11
- The UN Security Council has expressed
concern over the outbreak of ethnic violence in the city of Kosovska-Mitrovits
in the north of Kosovo. It was provoked by the Albanian extremists who
opened fire on a UN bus carrying Serbian refuges last week. Two of them
were killed and six wounded. Several more persons died in clashes that
followed. Many were injured, including French peacekeepers. The Security
Council has called on the Albanians and Serbs to show more restraint. Meanwhile
the Albanians have driven out of Kosovo about 80 per cent of the Serbs
who used to live there, and also most of the Montenegroes and the entire
Croatian community.
February 10
- The interim administrative assembly
of Kosovo held its first session in Pristina Wednesday. Its membership
grew, on decision by chief UN emissary in Kosovo Bernard Coushner, from
12 to 35 and is now presenting a wider range of political, ethnic and religious
associations. Ethnic Serbs have, however, refused to join the assembly
in protest against the terrorist moves by ethnic Albanians and the unwillingness
of the United Nations and the international peacekeeping contingent to
take into consideration their interests. The assembly focused on the developments
in the city of Kosovska Mitrovitsa. A bomb explosion shook the northern,
Serb-population, part of that city Tuesday night. It claimed no human lives.
A curfew has been imposed on Kosovska Mitrovitsa.
February 9
- Russia's foreign ministry has called
on KFOR and the UN mission in Kosovo to ensure the safety of ethnic minorities
in the province. In a statement made public in Moscow it recalls the mass
clashes in Kosovska-Mitrovits which resulted in human causalities. Unrest
began when a week ago the Albanians attacked with a grenade launcher a
UN bus carrying Serbs. And killing two passengers.
February 8
- The Yugoslav Defence Minister,
Pavle Bulatovic, was killed in a terror attack in Belgrade on Monday evening.
The Yugoslav state television network, RTS, has reported that a gunman
opened fire on Mr. Bulatovic through a window of a restaurant and ran away.
Two persons who were with Bulatovic were wounded. The Yugoslav government
at an emergency meeting last night described the killing of the Defence
Minister as a barbarous terrorist attack. Mr. Bulatovic was appointed Defence
Minister in 1994.
February 7
- The United Nations Secretary-General's
envoy to the Balkans Karl Bildt has made a statement that can further heat
the explosive situation around Kosovo. Speaking in an interview with the
Montenegrin newspaper Pobeda he said that Serbia had lost the right to
Kosovo. Bildt feels that the province remains a part of Serbia only formally
or legally. The statement by the UN diplomat runs counter to the position
of the world community, which supports the territorial integrity of the
Union Republic of Yugoslavia.
February 6
- Tensions are high again in Kosovska-Mitrovitsa
following clashes between Albanians and the KFOR international force. Thousands
of Albanians tried to break into the northern Serb part of the city by
a bridge across the Ibar river. The Albanians threw stones and bottles
at peace- keepers of the KFOR's French contingent deployed in the area.
The French servicemen had to use tear-gas to stop the rampaging crowd.
February 4
- The situation has aggravated sharply
in the northern part of the Serbian province of Kosovo which is under the
control of NATO-led international forces and Albanian separatists. This
happened after the Albanians attacked a UN bus on Wednesday which was carrying
Serbian refugees to Kosovska-Mitrovica. Two Serbian were killed and six
injured. The same day grenades were thrown into two Serbian restaurants
in the city, wounding about 20 persons. The France press says three Albanians
were killed in the clashes.
February 3
- At least two ethnic Serbs were
killed and fire wounded in northern Kosovo Wednesday. A KFOR spokesman
says a bus with 50 people in it came under grenade fire. Buses on the order
of this are used by international humanitarian organizations for the transportation
of ethnic Serbs in Albanian-population areas of Kosovo. No one has claimed
responsibility for the terrorist act. Ethnic Serbs still face violence
in Kosovo even though KFOR elements have been deployed in that province.
- Prime Minister Filip Vuyanovic
of Montenegro says his country takes a highly positive view of the Russian
efforts to settle the Balkan crisis. In Vuyanovic's view, Russia wants
to see a stable Yugoslavia and a clear-cut division of authority and responsibilities
between Belgrade and Serbia and Montenegro.
February 2
- The leadership of the UN mission
in Kosovo has again been unsuccessful in an attempt to convene an Interim
Administrative Council of the province, representing the Albanian and other
ethnic communities. At a news conference in Pristina, a member of the leadership
of the UN mission Jok Kovi said he had to put off a meeting of representatives
of the different ethnic communities planned for Tuesday because of the
refusal of the Albanian side to dissolve its unlawful government bodies
in the province, including the self-proclaimed parliament. The Serbs in
Kosovo are boycotting the efforts to set up an Interim Administrative Council
in protest against the formation of a Protection Corps made up mainly of
former fighters of the Kosovo Liberation army.
February 1
- Albanian extremists have carried
out another attack in a Serbian district bordering on Kosovo. Reports from
the Yugoslav independent news agency Beta say a group of Albanian militants
attacked a Serbian interior patrol on the outskirts of the village of Dobrosin.
2 extremists were killed in the skirmish that followed. Attacks mounted
by militants of the formally dissolved Kosovo Liberation Army have intensified
in Serbia's buffer zone. Like in Kosovo the militants' targets are Serbs
whom they are trying to drive on into central Serbia.
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