Blic, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
November 27, 2000

According to information from policemen in the field, positions of armed
Albanians 400 meters from police checkpoint

Terrorists fortify their positions

BUJANOVAC (Beta) - The positions of armed Albanians are only 400 to 500
meters from the police checkpoint furthest to the west in the Bujanovac
hinterlands toward Kosovo, a policeman told a Beta reporter upon arrival in
the village of Lucane.

The policeman said that it is clear that these are Albanian combat
fortifications and added that these were the same fortifications used by the
Yugoslav Army during last year’s NATO aggression. According to him,
movements of armed Albanians have been observed in the hills surrounding
Bujanovac.

As the deadline set by the Serbian government for the withdrawal of armed
Albanian groups from the crisis region of Bujanovac municipality nears,
tension in the south of Serbia is rising.

State security forces have brought out heavy weaponry in case the ultimatum
proves fruitless in preparation to intervene against positions in the
villages of Lucane, Mali Trnovac and Breznica which are being used as bases
by armed Albanian extremists.

The deadline for the ultimatum of the Serbian government to the armed
Albanians and KFOR is today at 7:00 p.m.

Two nights ago there was no exchange of fire between Serbian security forces
and the extremist Albanians, who are calling themselves the “Liberation Army
of Presevo, Medvedje and Bujanovac” (OVPMB). Representatives of the ministry
of internal affairs of Serbia have announced that they will intervene using
all available means if the Albanian armed groups do not withdraw from the
region.

At the same time, residents of Bujanovac two nights ago organized watches in
order to protect themselves against possible attacks by Albanian extremists
who have entered the secuirty zone at the administrative border between
Kosovo and central Serbia. In Bujanovac two nights ago and yesterday the
situation was calm and presently there are no demonstrations such as those
which were held two days ago by locals demanding weapons to defend
themselves.

According to eyewitness testimony, however, Albanian women and children from
Bujanovac were heading toward the border with Macedonia. In Bujanovac they
say that two days ago the last Serb left the village of Lucane. In this
village only the Albanian residents are visible. It was also said that the
extremists are not visible in Lucane.

“The situation in the south of Serbia was quiet yesterday after a ceasefire
agreement between Serbian police and Albanian extremists,” advised the KFOR
spokesman in Pristina, Mark Whitty.

Colonel Serge Labbe, who mediated in the talks between Serbian police and
Albanian extremists on behalf of KFOR, stated that the two sides on Friday
evening allegedly agreed on a ceasefire to last 72 hours, that is, until
Monday, November 27 at 7:00 p.m., under the the auspices of KFOR.

The political leader of the Albanian extremist Jonuz Musliu told Agence
France Presse yesterday that the OVPMB unilaterally decided on a ceasefire
for an undefined period.

The police chief in Vranje, whose district includes the region of Presevo,
told Agence France Press that he had heard nothing about any kind of
ceasefire agreement with the Albanian extremists.

The Serbian cominister of internal affairs Bozo Prelevic stated on Saturday
that the Serbian ministry of internal affairs (MUP) “is not in any sort of
contact, nor is it negotiating, with the terrorists from Kosovo”.

He said that it is “out of the question” that the conflicts in the ground
security zone in the region of Bujanovac, on the administrative border
toward Kosovo, are being provoked “by some sort of Liberation Army of
Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja”.

“Attempts are being made to represent the terrorists as guerrillas from the
region of Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja because if that were the case, the
question of KFOR’s responsibility would not be posed,” said Prelevic.

Three Serb police were killed in conflicts between the Serbian police and
Albanian extremists from Tuesday to Friday in the Presevo valley in the
south of Serbia.

The mayor of Bujanovac, Stojance Arsic, yesterday accused KFOR of being
responsible for the breaking out of violence in south of Serbia, adding that
the situation “can be improved in 24 hours but only KFOR fulfils the tasks
assigned to it”.

He also said that KFOR should have first actually disarmed the “KLA” so
“weapons could not be brought into the security zone and into the south of
Serbia” and “hermetically seal the border and prevent attacks by
terrorists”.

He assessed the demand by Serbs in Bujanovac that they be provided with
weapons as justified and explained this by the great fear which was present
among the population. “Those who are asking for arms certainly would not act
on their own but only in conjunction with existing MUP units in the city, at
certain checkpoints, in mixed villages, in order to prevent the surprise
factor,” said Arsic.

He also said since the beginning of this year at least 70 incidents have
been recorded in Bujanovac municipality in which more than 20 policemen and
civilians lost their lives.

Translated by S. Lazovic (Nov. 27, 2000)

________________________________________________________________________________\
_____
Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com