http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/news.php3?id=201066

Two Suspected Serb Army Members Held in Kosovo

PRISTINA, Sep 20, 2000 -- (Reuters) Two suspected undercover members of the
Yugoslav Army's special forces were caught in central Kosovo on what NATO
peacekeepers said on Tuesday was a mission to sow terror.

A cache of weapons and explosives was also seized in the Serb enclave of
Gracanica, south of the capital Pristina, as Kosovo braced for Yugoslav
elections on Sunday and its own local election in a month's time.

NATO troops combing a Serb-populated area caught the men on Monday night. A
third Serb was also arrested, as troops uncovered ammunition, machine pistols,
detonators, hand grenades and wiring stashed near the cemetery.

"The purpose of the equipment we confiscated was to create fear and to
intimidate the people of Kosovo," General Juan Ortuno, commander of the KFOR
peacekeeping mission, told a news conference.

United Nations administrator for Kosovo Bernard Kouchner said two of the
detainees were "believed to be serving or former members of the Yugoslav forces,
the VJ, based in Nis (southeastern Serbia)".

"This is very serious. It is an obvious attempt to destabilize Kosovo and to
target the democracy, peace and security of Kosovo, and the world must know
about it," Kouchner said.

Diplomatic sources told Reuters the group had been tracked for some time by KFOR
intelligence.

"They were following them for a few weeks and if they hadn't caught them now
there was a danger of something big blowing up," a Kosovo-based Western diplomat
said.

NATO has frequently warned that Yugoslav forces, after being driven from Kosovo
by alliance bombing in June last year, were infiltrating the province to
destabilize the population. Belgrade regularly asserts that KFOR has failed to
enforce law and order or protect minorities.

DAWN OPERATION

Brigadier Robert Fry of Britain said the operation began shortly before midnight
with a force of about 300 Swedish and British troops and was completed by first
light.

They searched three locations near the center of Grancanica, one of the main
Serb enclaves in central Kosovo where Serb villages are heavily protected by
KFOR from potential violence by ethnic Albanian extremists.

The confiscated weapons included a Scorpion machine pistol, four automatics,
plastic explosives, an electronic timer, a Kalashnikov rifle, detonators and a
Jordanian UN identity pass.

Asked what proof NATO had found linking the two to Yugoslav special forces, Fry
refused to comment on the interrogation. They had been passed into international
police custody, he said, "and I have no intention of commenting".

"What I will however say is that prior to their detention I had intelligence
which I found compelling to link them to the VJ and to the special forces
organization in Nis."

Fry said six people had originally been detained, but three were later released.
Questioned about the significance of the Jordanian pass, he said there were
"lots of accoutrements" associated with KFOR and the United Nations
administration.

"I think that they were in the business of creating an explosive device for use
in Kosovo," Fry said. But he declined to speculate on what the possible target
might have been.

"I think the overall effect that they wanted to achieve is patently obvious,"
Fry said. "What this is, is very clearly associated with Serbia."



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