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Kosova Daily Report #1558, 98-09-20

Kosovo Information Center: Kosova Daily Report Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1558
Prishtina, 20 September 1998


CONTENTS

  • [01] AT LEAST 18 ALBANIANS KILLED BY SERB TROOPS IN LLAPI REGION THIS WEEK
  • [02] Eight Albanians Missing, 45 houses Burned in Two Villages
  • [03] Remains of Six Burned Albanians Found Near Dobratin Village of Podujeva
  • [04] At Least Five Albanians Massacred in Ka^anoll Village of Podujeva
  • [05] U^K for Llapi Region Says Five of Its Fighters Killed
  • [06] Serbs Crack Down on Albanian Communities After Deadline for Surrendering Weapons Expires
  • [07] Serbs Strike Against Refugees Attempting to Cross into Albania
  • [08] Two Villages in Drenica Come under Serb Artillery Fire Saturday and Sunday
  • [09] Serb Forces Terrorize Albanians in Klina Villages, Central Kosova

  • [01] AT LEAST 18 ALBANIANS KILLED BY SERB TROOPS IN LLAPI REGION THIS WEEK

    [02] Eight Albanians Missing, 45 houses Burned in Two Villages

    PRISHTINA, Sept 21 (KIC) - At least 18 Albanians were killed, and 45 houses burned in two villages, Dobratin and Ka^anoll, this week by Serbian military and paramilitary police forces in the northern Llapi region of Kosova, the Kosova Information Center (KIC) has learned.

    Two Albanians, Maksut Islam Rekaliu (64), resident of Dobratin, and Fetah Sefer Behrami (54), resident of Ka^anoll, were known to have died earlier in the week, when heavy Serb troops backed up by 75 tanks and scores of other vehicles were deployed in an area between the villages of Dobratin and Baj^in&, 8 km north of Podujeva, from where the Shal& e Bajgor&s region was attacked.

    Two other Albanians, Jashar Fetah Behrami (28) was found killed in Ka^anoll Friday, together with another man, still unidentified.

    Likewise in Ka^anoll, three villagers were found killed: Ilaz Bali Hyseni (82), Mihane Ram& Hyseni (f, 75), and Elez Begu (55).

    The remains of six burned Albanians were found today (Sunday) in burned and destroyed houses between the villages of Dobratin and Baj^in&.

    Meanwhile, on Saturday the headquarters of the Operative Sub-zone for Llapi region of the U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) issued a statement saying five of its fighters were killed in fighting with Serb troops: Fadil Sejdiu, Nazmi Zhegrova, Bekim Lushaku, Bekim Maliqi, and Habib Zeka. They will be buried later in the day on Sunday.

    Reports from Podujeva said eight Albanians have gone missing for five days now: Ramadan Behrami (60), Muhamet Fazliu (36), Rrahim Ramadani (16), Ejup Sejdiu (36), Beqir Lepaja (26), Rrahim Lepaja (28), Haki Rekaliu (35) and Xhafer Ajvazi.

    It will remain to be seen whether any of the missing could in fact be among those whose burned remains have been found in three houses between the villages of Dobratin and Baj^in&.

    Twenty six Albanian farmhouses have been burned in the village of Dobratin, and 19 in the neighboring village of Ka^anoll, which makes a geographic whole with the mountainous Shal& e Bajgor&s village, straddling between Podujeva, Mitrovica and Vushtrri ('Vucitrn'). [See related stories below, "Remains of Six...", "At Least Five...", "U^K for Llapi..."]

    [03] Remains of Six Burned Albanians Found Near Dobratin Village of Podujeva

    PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The remains of six burned Albanians were found today (Sunday) in burned and destroyed houses between the villages of Dobratin and Baj^in&, municipality of Podujeva, in the area where heavy Serb troops were stationed earlier in the week during the Serbian attack on Dobratin and the villages of Shal& e Bajgor&s.

    LDK sources in Podujeva said two burned bodies have been found in the house of Hazir Shemsi Rekaliu, three others in the guest hall of Fehmi Shemsi Rekaliu, whereas one in the house of Rizah Rekaliu.

    The three houses where the remains were found were burned.

    LDK sources in Podujeva said the water in the well of Tefik Xhemajli in the same area was red and stank. It was suspected of containing corpses of killed people.

    [04] At Least Five Albanians Massacred in Ka^anoll Village of Podujeva

    PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - Sources in Podujeva confirmed today (Sunday) that at least five Albanians were massacred in Ka^anoll village during a Serb offensive in the Shala e Bajgor&s region this past week.

    The Shala e Bajgor&s region - straddling the municipalities of Mitrovica, Podujeva and Vushtrri in north-west Kosova - was targeted by heavy Serb troops for three days last week.

    According to estimates by a local Albanian organization, some 260 vehicles, tanks, trucks and armored personnel carriers, and around 12.000 Serb troops, were involved in the operations against Albanian villages in the area.

    The LDK chapter in Podujeva confirmed that the following five Albanians were slain in Ka^anoll village alone: Fetah Behrami (55), his son Jashar Behrami (28), Ilaz Hyseni (82), Mihane Hyseni (f,75) and Elez Begu (55). They were all buried on Saturday evening in the local cemetery in Ka^anoll.

    Another residents of the village, Ramadan Behrami, has been missing for five days now.

    The LDK named 19 families in Ka^anoll, whose farmhouses were razed during the Serb bombardment. This small village has a total of 55 extended families. The houses of many other families were badly damaged, it said.

    Activists of the Podujeva LDK chapter who visited Ka^anoll on Saturday afternoon described it as a ghost village. Only half a dozen residents, mainly elderly, had stayed behind, they said.

    [05] U^K for Llapi Region Says Five of Its Fighters Killed

    It claims to have killed 100 Serb soldiers and forces Serb troops withdraw PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The headquarters of the Operative Sub- zone for Llapi region of the U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) issued a statement Saturday claiming success in battling the Serbian military in the northern Kosovar region from 15 through 18 September.

    "The Serb attack was fierce especially in Qaf& e Ka^anollit (the Ka^anolli mountain pass)", the U^K said, claiming that as many as 12,000 Serb soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries as well as "Russian and Rumanian mercenaries were involved in the offensive".

    U^K special forces carried out guerilla warfare tactics and forced Serb troops to withdraw from the villages of Llapi region, the statement said.

    The Serb enemy destroyed Albanian property and arrested a number of innocent, non-combatants, especially in the village of Dobratin, the statement said.

    Around 100 members of the enemy forces were killed by the U^K in the area of Llapi making part of the Shal& e Bajgor&s region, and tens of motorized and armored vehicles were destroyed, the statement said.

    Five fighters of the U^K died heroically in action, the statement of the U^K Llapi sub-zone said, naming them as Fadil Sejdiu, Nazmi Zhegrova, Bekim Lushaku, Bekim Maliqi and Habib Zeka. Two villagers were killed by Serb troops, too, the statement said.

    Publication of the names of the fallen men has not been the rule, bur rather an exception, with the U^K so far.

    [06] Serbs Crack Down on Albanian Communities After Deadline for Surrendering Weapons Expires

    PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The villages of Damjan, Lipovec and G&rqin& in the municipality of Gjakova saw themselves encircled for hours by huge Serb troops on Saturday before they cracked down on the local population, local sources reported.

    The three villages were earlier last week given a two-day ultimatum to surrender the weapons they allegedly possesses or else risk a reprisals.

    The LDK chapter in Gjakova said the residents of Damjan, Lipovec and G&rqin& who were still in the villages were holed up in houses and the local school building in Damjan during the whole day, fearing an imminent attack. Part of the population had fled homes once the Serbs announced the ultimatum to these villages.

    The Serb entered into the village in the afternoon and embarked on a brutal campaign, the LDK information commission in Gjakova reported.

    In Lipovec, the Serb troops set ablaze several farmhouses of the Halilaj extended family.

    Several Albanians, including Zenun Gjuraj and his son Ramush Gjuraj in the village of G&rqina, were rounded up and taken to the police in Gjakova.

    [07] Serbs Strike Against Refugees Attempting to Cross into Albania

    The bodies of two other killed Albanians brought to town morgue Saturday PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - Serb forces attacked a group of some 200 Albanians from Gjakova villages who were on their way to neighboring Albania. The Albanians were attacked at a location called "Shpatulla e Bobit" near Deve village, the LDK chapter in Gjakova reported.

    The LDK chapter could not confirm if there were casualties there.

    The Serb police brought Sunday the bodies of two killed Albanians to the town morgue in Gjakova. Sources named one of them as Adonis Beci from Gjakova, while the second one, a male in his early twenties, has not been identified yet. The LDK chapter in Gjakova said it believed the two Albanians were killed while attempting to cross the border into Albania in the mountains.

    Serb forces brought Saturday two wounded Albanians to the town hospital in Gjakova: Avni Kadria (21), resident of Stub&ll village (Gjakova), and a 12- year-old girl Shyhrete Bajrami from Strellc i Ul&t (De^an). No details related to their health condition or the circumstances they were wounded has been made available.

    [08] Two Villages in Drenica Come under Serb Artillery Fire Saturday and Sunday

    PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - At around 11:00 a.m. today (Sunday), Serb forces launched a heavy artillery attack against the villages of Prekaz i Ep&rm and Klin& e Poshtme in the municipality of Skenderaj ('Srbica').

    The two villages were fired upon from the huge Serb base in the former ammunition factory near Skenderaj and from an outpost at a location 'Lisat e Varreve', sources said.

    These two village had also been pounded from the ammunition factory on Saturday afternoon.

    An eye-witness told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) that the Serb forces cracked down around midday today on a suburb of Skenderaj itself.

    There has been no word on possible casualties there.

    [09] Serb Forces Terrorize Albanians in Klina Villages, Central Kosova

    PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The LDK chapter in Klina said today (Sunday) several thousand internally displaced persons (IDP) have been still camping out in the mountains of this municipality. The IDP's are sleeping under home-made plastic tents or even in make- shift tents covered with tree branches and leaves, with scarce food supplies, and without medication.

    LDK sources in Klina said the Albanians who stayed in their villages, as well as the those who returned to their homes in the meantime, have been subjected to everyday terror and intimidation by Serb police and armed Serb civilians. It named the villages of Sferk&, Dush, Volljak&, Si^ev&, Gremnik, and P&r^ev&, which have been particularly targeted by Serbs.

    The LDK chapter in Klina named scores of Albanians who bore the brunt of Serb campaigns of repression, including Ahmet Gashi (60) from Si^eva, and four other old persons in Si^eva: Shaban Sherifi, Dem& Morina, Fetah Smajli and Ahmet Brahimi.

    At Vuljaka village, Serb police arrested 13 local Albanians last week. Six were released after having been tortured badly, while the rest are still being held in police custody.

    At Si^eva village, Serb troops have occupied houses of local Albanians, where from they attacked the outlying villages.

    Serbs have burned many farmhouses in this village, abandoned earlier by their Albanian owners in the wake oft Serb attacks.

    Serb Police Shoots at and Wounds Pedestrian in Lipjan PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - An Albanian, Sadri Luma from Grack& e Vjet&r village in Lipjan, was reported wounded by Serbian police on Thursday.

    The LDK chapter in Lipjan said Sadri Luma was wounded on the Prishtina- Lipjan road when, together with a companion of his Ramadan Jashari, was returning from the town to his village. The two Albanians were first halted and ill-treated by a Serb patrol, the LDK said. After they were let go, one of the policemen shot three bullets in their direction, wounding badly Sadri Luma.

    The condition of the wounded Albanian is not life threatening, the LDK Information Commission in Lipjan said today.

    Kosova Information Center

    Kosovo Information Center: Kosova Daily Report Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
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