Kosovo Protection Corps Suspends 5

The Associated Press
Friday, July 6, 2001; 12:55 p.m. EDT

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia -- Five high-ranking members of the Kosovo
Protection Corps were suspended Friday for alleged involvement in the
Macedonian insurgency.

The suspensions came a week after President Bush issued an executive
order restricting entry to the United States of the five men.

"After having consulted with the United States and other nations, an
investigation against these persons has been initiated," the U.N. mission and
the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo said in a joint statement.

The Kosovo Protection Corps is a group created to deal with civilian
emergencies after the war ended two years ago in Kosovo, which is the
southern province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.

It comprises former members of the now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation
Army, the rebel force that fought for independence for the Yugoslav
province.

The five men were prominent rebel leaders during the 1998-99 war in
Kosovo. They were identified as Daut Haradinaj, chief of staff of the
Kosovo Protection Corps, and ranking members Ramiz Lladrovci, Sami
Lushtaku, Rrustem Mustafa and Rexhep Selimi.

Fighting in Macedonia broke out in February, when militants began taking
over villages near the border with Kosovo - where the population is
predominantly ethnic Albanian - to demand more rights.

Details of the men's alleged involvement in the rebellion were not released.

The Kosovo Protection Corps said "no concrete facts" were presented on
their members' possible involvement in the insurrection.

© Copyright 2001 The Associated Press