BBC News
Thursday, 25 January, 2001, 19:53 GMT

British K-For troops
under fire

Albanian rebels have set up checkpoints

By Nicholas Wood in Pristina

British troops serving with the Nato-led
peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, K-For, have
been shot at by Albanian rebels while on patrol
near the boundary with Serbia.

The soldiers were part of an observation post
set up to prevent the flow of men and
weapons to and from the province.

The incident appears
to mark a worsening of
relations between the
rebels and K-For.

According to a K-For
spokesman, the
soldiers came under fire
after they spotted a
group of 10 armed men
making their way from
Serbia into Kosovo near
the town of Zegra.

One of the troops called on the rebel group to
stop. As he did, the men opened fire. They
then retreated back into Serbia.

The soldiers subsequently withdrew from their
position to avoid further clashes.

Talks with rebels

This is the first time British troops have been
targeted.

Previously, a joint patrol of Russian and
American troops was shot at late last year.

On Wednesday, a senior K-For officer held
talks with rebel leaders to prevent just such a
clash.

The shooting follows increased tension on the
boundary as K-For steps up patrolling in the
area.

It also marks a deterioration in relations
between the two sides.

Spokesman arrested

The rebel group is fighting for the
independence of three Albanian-populated
towns in southern Serbia and uses a
five-kilometre-deep military exclusion zone on
the boundary to launch attacks on Serbian
security forces.

On Wednesday, American soldiers arrested the
political spokesman for the rebels, Pacir Shiciri.
They accused him of illegally entering Kosovo.

He was arrested with two journalists and
accused of being a member of an illegal ethnic
Albanian group.

The arrest is an embarrassment to K-For since
Mr Shiciri is used by the military alliance as the
main go-between in talks with the rebels.

Incidents like these are unlikely to ease the
increasingly strained relations with the rebels.

While K-For has responsibility for the boundary
with Serbia, it wants to avoid at all costs
coming into direct conflict with them.

Such a step would risk a backlash from
Kosovo's majority Albanian population.