Mortar thrown on Kosovo refugee center - agency

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Gunmen attacked a refugee center in Serbia's volatile Kosovo province Thursday night, state news agency Tanjug said Friday. Rifle grenade and automatic weapons were used in the assault

on the collective refugee center in the village of Babaloc near Decani, some 60 miles southwest of Kosovo's Pristina capital, the report said. No one was hurt in the incident, it said. At the nearest police stations of Djakovica and Pec, no one was available for the immediate comment. It was the fourth attack on the same refugee camp over the past few months, Veselin Cadjenovic, the investigative judge of the district court of Pec, was quoted by the agency as saying. ``A rifle grenade was launched first. But as it obviously missed the target, the attackers opened fire with automatic weapons, hitting several houses but wounding no one,'' he said. Police mounted a thorough search. Kosovo province, where the ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs nine to one, has been the scene of growing violence since the beginning of the year. About 10 people, Serbs and Albanians, have been killed in the province this year, bringing the number of victims to over 50 during the past two years. Serbia removed the province's autonomy in 1989, prompting a boycott of official institutions by Albanians, who established a parallel government. ^REUTERS@

Kosova Information Center Prishtina, 28 February 1998 18:30 hrs

PRESS RELEASE

HUGE SERB FORCES CRACK DOWN ON VILLAGES IN THE DRENICA REGION

Latest Reports: Clashes Between Serb Forces and Local Albanians Continue, Casualties Reported

PRISHTINA, Feb 28 (KIC) - At 17:30 hrs today (Saturday), a local source from Llaush& village of Skenderaj told KIC that heavy shooting was going on in a substantial area along the road Gllogovc-Likoshan-^irez-Baks-Prellovc and Polac (Skenderaj). A huge operation by Serb forces against local Albanian settlements was taking place, according to the source. An explosion was heard near Polac, the source said, adding that a Serb helicopter flew over the area at the time. This source said that huge Serb military forces have been deployed at T&rrnovc village near Skenderaj. At Klin& e Ep&rme village (Skenderaj municipality) four armored police vehicles have been deployed and are reported at the ready. Reportedly, local Albanians responded to the Serb forces attacking the area. A local source said there were casualties during the clashes, presumably on both sides. For five weeks now, the Drenica region has been virtually under siege by Serb forces. All started on January 22, when an Albanian family was attacked by Serb forces at Prekaz village of Skenderaj, leaving two women members of the family wounded. The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) sources said the situation was highly dramatic and deteriorating by the hour.

Serb Attack on Likushan Village of Gllogovc

PRISHTINA, Feb 28 (KIC) - Just after midday today (Saturday) arms shooting were reported at Likushan village, municipality of Gllogovc, in the Drenica region in central Kosova. At around 14:00 hrs, a source told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) that the shooting which had started two hours earlier was going on unabated. The Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) quoted a local source as saying Serb forces had besieged the Albanian extended family, namely the Gjelaj neighborhood of the Lokoshan village. A CDHRF source in Skenderaj (in Serbian 'Srbica') said at 15:00 hrs arms shooting were being heard at the time at the ^irez village of Skenderaj, a village bordering on Likushan. At midday today, the chairman of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) branch in Gllogovc told KIC huge Serb forces passed through the small town of Gllogovc and were heading for the Dobroshec, Gllanasell&, and Likoshan villages of Gllogovc, and ^irez village of Skenderaj. It is reported that several armored personnel carriers and other armored vehicles with armed policemen on board headed there. CDHRF sources said around 14:00 hrs fresh Serb forces passed through Gllogovc, with weapons pointed at citizens. LDK branch officials in Gllogovc have reported about an extremely tense situation in the municipality, especially in the territory neighboring on Skenderaj municipality.

President Rugova Denounces Serb Attack, Calls for Its Immediate End

PRISHTINA, Feb 28 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova condemned in the strongest term Saturday evening an attack by Serb forces in the Drenica region (municipalities of Gllogovc and Skenderaj), which resulted in loss of life. At least five Albanians have been reported killed by Serb forces today. President Ibrahim Rugova demanded that the operation of Serb forces against Albanians be brought to an end. The Kosova President appealed to the United States of America and the European Union (EU) countries to pressure Belgrade into ending this brutal crackdown immediately. The crackdown on the Albanians in Drenica is aimed at instilling fear and panic among the people of Kosova, who are committed to their struggle for a peaceful resolution of the Kosova crisis, President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova said. Meanwhile, the Presidency of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK), the strongest political force in Kosova, in a statement issued Saturday evening, called on the international community, first and foremost the United States of America, to intervene with the Serbian government in Belgrade to bring an end to the ongoing crackdown and lift the siege the Serb forces have imposed in Drenica for weeks now. The LDK Presidency urged its members and the people of Kosova to do its utmost so that this dramatic situation is overcome peacefully.

At Least Five Albanians Killed by Serb Forces Near Gllogovc on Saturday

PRISHTINA, Feb 28 (KIC) - At least five Albanians were killed today at Likoshan village of Gllogovc, central Kosova, during an attack of Serb forces against the local Albanian population in the Drenica (Drenitza) region. The killing of five Albanians was confirmed by Serb media, quoting Serbian police and security ministry. Albanian sources in Skenderaj (in Serbian 'Srbica') and Gllogovc reported of other Albanians wounded, including women and children. By 20:00 hrs, Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) sources in these two small towns could not say whether the operation of the Serb forces - which had started earlier today in villages like Likoshan, ^irez, Baks, Prelloc and Polac - was over. The villages were not accessible in the circumstances, they said, as the area has been sealed off and packed by Serb forces. Serbian media reports implied that the operation of Serb forces was going on, allegedly in efforts to track down attacker on a local Serb police patrol. According to the Serb police, just after midday today (Saturday), two Serb policemen were killed and two others wounded at Likoshan village. Sources in Gllogovc told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) fresh Serb forces, fully equipped, were seen heading for the affected Albanian villages this evening.

Kosova Information Center

Kosova Information Center Kosova Daily Report #1358 Prishtina, 1 March 1998 10:30 hrs

Urgent!

Attack of Serb Forces in Drenica Villages Continues

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) sources in Skenderaj (in Serbian 'Srbica') said today (Sunday) morning Serb forces continued their massive attack against Albanian villages in the Drenica villages (Skenderaj and Gllogovc municipalities) which started around midday Saturday. During a telephone conversation with LDK branch leaders in Skenderaj, heavy shooting could be heard coming from the small town of Skenderaj and the nearby Llaush& village. Witnesses said Serb forces had opened fire from armoured vehicles. LDK sources in Skenderaj said Serb forces have been engaged today in attacks in Skenderaj itself and in an area stretching from Polac village, through Prekaz, up to Llaush& village, and that shooting was heard also from the Likoshan and ^irez villages, which bore the brunt of Serb force's attack yesterday. A local sources from the Llaush& village told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) today Serb helicopters flew over the neighbourhoods where the extended families of Gecaj, Rrecaj, etc. are situated. Reportedly fire was opened from helicopters on Albanian houses. At around 9:00 hrs. shooting reportedly ceased, but fresh police forces were reported having arrived in the village from the town of Mitrovica. An eyewitness said Serb forces which had arrived by lorries started heading on foot for the Prekaz village. He said he feared Serb forces started besieging the village in advance of an imminent attack. At 10:00 o'clock, an LDK source said Serb forces had withdrawn from the Polac village, where they had been since yesterday. Serb forces had ordered several families leave the village, the source added.

Scores of casualties feared during yesterday's attack of Serb forces

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - Sources from the Drenica region said during yesterday's attack of Serb forces two nucleus families of the extended Prekazi family at ^irez village had been targeted, leaving several family members dead, including women. Serb police authorities claimed yesterday Serb forces had killed five Albanian 'terrorists' during an exchange of fire with them. It is not known whether Serb authorities have dubbed 'terrorists' members of these families, who were killed in their own houses. The chairman of the LDK branch in Skenderaj, Idriz Rreci, appealed today to Kosovar Albanian institutions and the international community to do whatever is in their power so that the Drenica region is saved from the Serb attack, which has been foretold for some time. Sources from Skenderaj speak of scores of casualties, killed and wounded, during yesterday's attack by Serb forces against the Albanian settlements. The Kosova Information Center (KIC) has been overwhelmed today by people either reporting or asking information about what is happening in Drenica. It is indeed very hard to confirm all pieces of information, given the circumstances. A delegation of the Presidency of the Democratic League of Kosova left for Drenica today morning. There is no word from Gllogovc, either about yesterday's casualties and damage during the Serb forces attack in the villages, or indeed whether the attack has resumed today. The Serb attack started yesterday at Likoshan and later on extended along the route Gllogovc -Likoshan-Polac -Skenderaj.

Kosova Red Cross Appeals for Help

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The Kosova Red Cross appealed today for international humanitarian organizations to do whatver they can to help the Albanian population in the villages of municipalities of Gllogovc and Skenderaj, which have been attacked by Serb forces. The head of the Kosova Red Cross, Dr. Isuf Dedushaj, said the situation was grave indeed and that the affected population, especially the wounded, wer6e in urgent need of medicines and medical stuff.

The dailies on Sunday also report on the clash in Kosova on Saturday afternoon, where two Serbian policemen and five Kosova Albanians were killed. "Fight in Kosova, seven killed," under this title, Koha Jone writes that according to an official report of the Serbian Interior Ministry, two policemen were killed and two were seriously wounded when the police patrol was ambushed near the Likosan village. "Repelling the attack, the Interior Ministry's members killed five Albanian terrorists," stressed the paper, according to the same statement. According to Gazeta Shqiptare, Drenica became yesterday the square where two Serbian policemen were killed by unknown people. On the same day, the Serbian forces did not hesitate to kill in cold blood some five other Albanians. Further on, referring to sources from the Kosova Information Center, the same paper adds that "movements of troops were seen yesterday and a day before from Prishtina towards villages of Drenice and nearby." Zeri i Popullit dedicates to this event the article entitled "The Serbs kill five Albanians in Kosova," referring to ATA. This event is also covered by Rilindja Demokratike in the article "Five Albanians killed by Serbian police," and Albania "Five Albanians and two Serbs killed."

Kosova Information Center KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1358 Prishtina, 1 March 1998

Third Edition (16:00)

The Death-Toll in Serb Attack Still Unknown, Six Killed Albanians Identified

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The Kosova Information Center (KIC) has so far learned the names of six Albanians killed by the Serb forces in an ongoing crackdown in the Drenica region since Saturday afternoon. According to findings of a senior delegation of the LDK which visited the affected area today the following persons have been killed: Nazmi Sejdiu, Bekim Sejdiu, Xhemshir Sejdiu and his wife Rukie Sejdiu, and Rexhep Ajet Rexhepi, all of them from ^irez village of Gllogovc. Meanwhile, the LDK branch in Mitrovca reported this afternoon that it has learned the name of another Albanian killed by Serb forces. Bekim Beqir Deliu (16) died this afterenoom of wounds he had received this morning in Skenderaj. According to the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF), at least fourteen Albanians have been killed. In a press release issued today, the human rights council said that apart from 5 Albanians killed at Likoshan village of Gllogovc, 7 Albanians were killed at Qierez village of Skenederaj, and at least 2 others in ^ikatova e Re village, near Gllogovc. The statement further said that the Council has learned that fresh police forces were deployed in a wide zone stretching in several Albanian villages between Skenderaj and Gllogovc. Members of the Serb paramilitary units of the notorious Zelkjo-Raznatovic Arkan were also seen in the woods near Polac village, the CDHRF said.

LDK Delegation Visiting Drenica Speaks to the Press in Prishtina

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - A senior delegation of the Presidency of the Democratic League of Kosova - Dr. Fehmi Agani, Hydajet Hyseni, Anton Noka, Fatmir Sejdiu, Adil Pireva, Abdyl Ramaj and Mehmet Hajrizi - visited today Skenderaj, the small town in the Drenica region of Kosova, which has been under a virtual Serb force's siege for a second day running. The LDK officials visited the area and met with local LDK branch leaders in Skenderaj in a bid to see for themselves what was actually happening there. The delegation spoke to the press early afternoon today, after returning to Prishtina. Fatmir Sejdiu said the delegatio wanted to go to Qirez and Likoshan, villages that together with several other ones have been under siege since midday Saturday. People who had returned back in Skenderaj told the delegation it would be too dangerous for them to go there. Abdyl Ramaj, referring to accounts by people who had witnessed an/or were informed about the developments in the besieged villages, said that Serb forces attacked a neighborhood at Qirez yesterday (Saturday), namely the house of Sheremet Sejdiu, killing on the occasion his two sons, Nazmi Sejdiu and Bekim Sejdiu. Mr. Ramaj said the house of Sefer Nebiu was likewise attacked. He was gravely wounded, hit by four bullets. Sefer's son, Xhemshir and Xhemshir's wife, Rukie, have been killed. There is no information about one of Sefer's sons, Ilir. The police has beaten up Zahir. Mr. Ramaj further said that at Likoshan Rexhep Ajet Rexhepi, native of Qirez village, was killed. Ibush Tahir Rama is reported to have disappeared. Mr Abdyl Ramaj said local Albanians Muharrem Nebihu, Rrustem Nebihu and Sejdi, Hamdi and Qerime Sejdiu, a medical nurse, had been inhumanely ill-treated. He further told the press yesterday from 15:00 hrs through 20,00 hrs four Albanian families had been forced to lay down in front of armored vehicles. It is the family of Rrustem Rama, the family of Sejdi Sejdiu, the family of Hamdi Sejdiu, and a fourth family whose head has not been identified. While the families were forced to lay down on the ground, two military and police helicopters flew over them. The Serb forces on board helicopters were at the ready, Mr. Ramaj quoted local sources as saying. An Albanian house was attacked from a helicopter for 20 minutes at Prellovc village. Three people were reported wounded there, but the names could not be obtained, Mr. Ramaj said. Eye-witnesses told the senior LDK delegation that there were ruined houses and corpses laying inside and outside in the villages that have been targeted by Serb forces. Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu said the Serb attacks have been intensified in the past few months, whereas in the last two days there was huge build-up of forces. The attack started with killings of people and besieging of villages, he added. Three villages connecting the municipality of Gllogovc and Skenderaj have been sealed off. There have been reports about villagers having vacated their houses and that other people, still unidentified, might have been killed in the ruined houses. We cannot establish and confirm the number of fatalities, Mr. Sejdiu stressed. He told the press the members of the LDK Presidency who visited the area were stopped and held up for half an hour in a Serb police check-point. The LDK officials were ordered to get out and were provoked all the time, with the police brandishing weapons at them. Mehmet Hajrizi, another member of the LDK delegation, told the press there were many wounded people who were in desperate need of medical care and medicines. Mr. Hajrizi said Serb police forces went to Skenderaj from Mitrovica today. Dr. Fehmi Agani said these are well-prepared actions by Serb forces. He noted that by and large they happen on Saturdays and Sundays, when diplomatic staff and representatives are off for week-end. The danger is not yet over, Mr. Agani said, adding that the ubiquitous Serb build-up is a threatening presence. Anton Noka told the press, when the delegation was halted and had their identity checked, the police addressed them by saying: "How dare you come! We can liquidate you!" The police new in advance that it was us, and they behaved outrageously, apparently on advice by their superiors, Fatmir Sejdiu said. Regarding the number of Serb forces, Fatmir Sejdiu said they were concentrated in huge groups, which, according to local people, amounted to 150 policemen each. *** Meanwhile, Dr. Alush Gashi, President Rugova's health adviser, said international organizations operating in Kosova had been informed today morning about what was happening. Reports say medical treatment for the wounded people in the medical center in Skenderaj and other health centers in villages had been obstructed. Dr. Gashi said "we have offered the International Red Cross crews of surgeons, doctors, and nurses who would be ready to go there, if their passage to the area is secured". Nysret Zymeri (23) from Prellovc of Sk&nderajt, seriously wounded with two bullets, one of them fired from a helicopter, has been transferred to Prishtina today, KIC has learned.

Contradictory Accounts of Serb Press and Police on Yesterday's Attack

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - Serb media reported today about two Serb policemen killed and two others wounded yesterday around 12:30 at Likoshan village near Gllogovc. They were attacked by Albanian 'terrorists', the media said. The names of the killed policemen have not been unveiled, whereas the wounded ones have been identified as Slavisa Matejiq and Pavle Damjanovic. The accounts of the Serbian Ministry and the pro-government Politika daily newspaper on the incident are contradictory. The Ministry said a Serb police patrol had been attacked from an ambush. Two policemen were killed, two others wounded. The policemen returned fire, killing five 'Albanian terrorists', the Serbian police said. The Politika daily said fire had been opened when the investigating judge and the Serb police had arrived on the scene of an earlier incident. The policemen returned fire and started chasing the attackers, killing one and wounding three others. The newspaper quoted unidentified witnesses as saying four other attackers were killed too, many others wounded. The latter were withdrawn by their associates in the nearby woods, Politika concluded.

Appeals for International Community to Prevent escalation of Conflict in Kosova

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - Kosovar Albanian political parties and associations have been calling on the international community to intervene urgently with the Belgrade regime to bring an end to the ongoing crackdown of Serb forces against the local Albanian population in Drenica. "While protesting the ongoing massacre against the innocent Albanian population, we urge for an immediate end of the barbarous campaign of violence, and appeal on human rights organizations world-wide to urge international community to intervene and prevent the bloodshed in Kosova", the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said in a statement today. The Presidency of the Liberal Party of Kosova (PLK) in an urgent meeting held today said that "with the recent escalation of violence in Kosova, Serbia risks the possibility of provoking a wider conflict in the Balkans." The PLK appealed on the international community, the USA and EU "to undertake urgent and concrete steps in preventing the bloodshed in Kosova". The Youth Forum of the Democratic League of Kosova urged the international community to intervene with the Belgrade regime, so as to prevent the "massacre of Albanian people, including children, by the units of Serb forces". The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova denounced last evening the Serb attack and demanded an immediate end to it. He appealed to the United States of America and the European Union to pressure Belgrade into ending this brutal crackdown and lift the siege of Serb forces in the Drenica region. The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK), the strongest political force, made a similar appeal last evening.

Serbian Police Holds Prishtina Hospital and Morgue under Blockade

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The Serbian police has blocked entrances of the Surgery department and the morgue of the Prishtina Hospital. Sources told KIC that seven police vehicles have been parked in front of the Prishtina morgue for several hours. Since morning hours today, civilian cars have been denied access to the compounds of the hospital. Unconfirmed reports said that two wounded Serb policemen were being treated in the surgery department of the Prishtina Hospital.

IFRC Representative Speaks about Efforts to Assist Wounded Persons

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The correspondent of the Albanian section of Deutsche Welle spoke today to one of the representatives of the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), Per Jensnas (sp). This is what Mr. Jensnas told Deutsche Welle: "We were informed by the "Mother Theresa" Organization that there has been killing in this village, many people are dead, the figure of 28 has been mentioned, and also many more wounded, and they are without equipment to treat these people out there. We were asked to try to assist in any way, and we are working and are in contact with ICRC in Belgrade and other organizations here," Mr. Per Jensnas (sp) of the International Federation of Red Cross told the Albanian section of Deutsche Welle this morning. "We have also visited the main hospital in Prishtina, to get in touch with the emergency unit to ask for their assistance as well, But we were not received in the hospital. They did not want to talk to us about the situation. For the time being, we are planning to do something, but I don't know what yet. But we would like to assist these people in any case, and time is flying now", said IFRC representative. Asked to comment about the possibility for them to go to the region, Mr. Jensnas (sp) said, "for the time being I don't think we can as expatriots. It is a very insecure area. There were threats against one of our expatriots last week. We have to discuss it in group here before we take any decision." Mr. Jensnas (sp) said they had not asked for permission with the police so far, yet he added their work was in the process, "as I told you we are in the process. We started with the hospital, with the emergency unit. We thought it was the most important thing to do. The next step might be with the police, to get the permission, try to allow Mother Theresa [a local humanitarian organization] to go there." Mr. Jansnas said they were obliged to ask permission from the police to travel to the region.

Serb police clampdown leaves 14 dead

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (March 1, 1998 09:54 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) - Serbian armored vehicles were heading toward a troubled region in Serbia's Kosovo province Sunday after police clamped down on armed ethnic Albanian militants ahead of clandestine elections that Belgrade is refusing to recognize, officials said.

In an unprecedented upsurge in violent action, at least 14 people died during police operations against Albanian militants on Saturday, according to official and semi-official sources.

Police shot dead seven ethnic Albanians during a sweep operation at the village of Cirez in the central Kosovo region of Srbica, according to the local head of the Democratic League of Kosovo, the main ethnic Albanian party opposed to Serbian rule.

Idriz Rreci said the men were gunned down by machinegun fire from a helicopter. There was no Serbian confirmation of the incident.

At Likosane, in the same region, five Albanians and two Serbian police died in fighting which the Serbian interior ministry said was instigated by "terrorists" of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK). Two policemen were seriously wounded.

In addition to Cirez and Likosane, the villages of Dobrosec, Glanafela, Baks, Preloc and Polac were also raided by police over the weekend.

They fall within an area of around 120 square miles controlled by UCK militants.

Unconfirmed reports from Albanian sources spoke of 15 Albanians killed and 27 wounded.

The Serbian pro-government daily Politika, citing hospital officials, said four Serbian policemen had been killed and three wounded.

Democratic League of Kosovo officials in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina, said further shooting had been heard early Sunday in the Srbica region.

A party official said around 20 Serbian armoured vehicles had been seen making their way towards the Srbica region where a "war climate" currently prevailed.

"We believe that given the number of Serbian police in combat gear and the armoured vehicles on the roads a major operation is being prepared in the Srbica region," said Fehmi Agani after a visit to the region.

Agani was able to provide the names of the five Albanians killed at Likosane, one of whom was a woman.

Serbian police had cut off access to the central hospital in Pristina.

The rise in tension runs counter to current international mediation efforts to bring Serbians and ethnic Albanians, who make up some 90 percent of the population of Kosovo, to the negotiating table.

Late Saturday the leader of the Albanian community, Ibrahim Rugova, appealed to the United States and the European Union to put pressure on Belgrade to rein in the Serbian police.

He said the violence was "intended to sow panic in the Albanian population which has chosen to resolve the Kosovo problem by peaceful means."

Serbian authorities have vowed to crush the UCK which has claimed innumerable attacks on Serbian policemen and civilians and on Albanians loyal to Belgrade.

On Thursday police said unidentified gunmen attacked a home for Serb and Montenegrin refugees in Kosovo region, using machineguns and grenade launchers, but no one was hurt.

Around 40,000 Serbian policemen are stationed in Kosovo, according to independent sources.

The U.S. envoy to the former Yugoslavia, Robert Gelbard, visited the region last week and said the Serbian authorities were mainly responsible for the violence, but also condemned UCK "terrorism."

He dismissed the idea of full independence for Kosovo as "unrealistic."

Kosovo was an autonomous province that formed part of Serbia until 1989 when the Serbian authorities, prompted by then communist party leader Slobodan Milosevic, unilaterally revoked its autonomy. Calls for self-rule in the province are routinely repressed.

By IBRAHIM OSMANI , Agence France-Presse

Kosova Information Center KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1358 Prishtina, 1 March 1998

FOURTH EDITION - 19:00 hrs

Ten Albanians Killed by Serb Forces, More Fatalities Feared

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - LDK sources in Gllogovc have reported so far about ten Albanians killed by Serb forces during crackdown in the Drenica villages which started Saturday. Many Albanians have been reported shot and wounded. Four brothers, Beqir Sejdiu, Bekim Sejdiu, Bedri Sejdiu and Nazmi Sejdiu and their relatives Xhemshir Nebiu and his wife Rukije Nebiu were killed yesterday at Qirez village. At Likoshan village Muhamet Islam Gjeli (70) and his son Naser Gjeli (37) were killed, as well as Rexhep Ajet Rexhepi. Bekim Beqir Deliu (16) was killed today in Skenderaj. These ten Albanians have been identified as killed so far. It is feared the number of fatalities is higher. According to the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF), at least fourteen Albanians have been killed in the past two days in Drenica. Meanwhile, sources in Gllogovc and Skenderaj said police withdrew later this afternoon from Likoshan village. A convoy of 55 to 60 armored vehicles with Serb police on board was seen leaving the village, sources said. The Serb police forces started their crackdown yesterday with an attack on Likoshan village, whereas enforcement were reported sent in the area during all morning hours today. Before leaving the Likoshan village the Serb police arrested at least 11 Albanians, sources said, naming them as Ahmet Ahmeti (50), Gani Ahmeti (46), Ilmi Ahmeti(44), Ham&z Ahmeti (44), Driton Ahmeti (23), Naim Ahmeti(22), Lumni Ahmeti(20), Shemsi Ahmeti (19), Basri Ahmeti(19) and Elhami Ahmeti (16), a well as Behram Fazliu (50) from Gradica village who happened to be a guest of Ahmeti family. There has been no word about their fate.

U.S. Expresses Concern over Violence and Loss of Life in Drenica

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The United States government expressed concern over the recent developments in Kosova. Following is a press released issued Sunday afternoon by United States Information Service (USIS) Office in Prishtina: "The United States is deeply concerned by the reports of recent violence and the resulting loss of life and injuries that have occurred in the Drenica region of Kosovo. As Special Representative Gelbard said during his visits to Belgrade and Pristina last week, the situation in Kosovo is "dangerous", and we urge all parties to exercise restraint. Continuing violence will complicate efforts to initiate the dialogue necessary to reduce tensions and allow the province to escape the repression which characterizes the continuing unacceptable status quo. We urge Serbian authorities, in accordance with the responsibilities of states to their citizens, to spare no effort in making sure that necessary medical care is available to all of its citizens" (end text).

LDK Branch Chairman: Tensions Still High in Skenderaj

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The chairman of the LDK branch in Skenderaj, Idriz Rreci, told KIC in a telephone conversation around 5 p.m. the situation in Skenderaj was still very tense, but a bit calmer. He said Serb police forces on board five vehicles have pulled out from Polac village and been stationed at the Game Ammunition Factory near Skenderaj. Mr. Rreci said Skenderaj was not accessible from Mitrovica and Klina, and hardly accessible from Gllogovc amidst the virtual Serb siege of this municipality.

'I was Shot From Behind', Wounded Albanian Claims

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The twenty-three-year-old Nusret Zymeri, wounded yesterday in his village Prelloc of Skenderaj, after a long and tiring trip, reached finally one of the private clinics in Prishtina today. The staff in the clinic told KIC that Mr. Zumeri was wounded by two bullets, on his leg and shoulder, and that he must be operated upon. Mr. Zymeri told KIC he was shot and wounded from behind while he was taking his cows back home. "I was walking back home when I heard two shots. I suffered a black-out. It was my first cousin who picked my up with his tractor and took me to the doctor," Mr. Zymeri told KIC.

Protest Manifestation to Be Staged in Prishtina Monday

PRISHTINA, March 1 (KIC) - The coordinating council of the branches of the political parties in Prishtina has called for a mass rally in downtown Prishtina, capital of Kosova, on Monday to protest the bloodbath caused by Serb police and paramilitary forces in Drenica and other parts of Kosova. The one-hour peaceful protest manifestation will start at 10 o'clock in the morning. At present (18:30 hrs Sunday), a protest rally is being staged by around 2.000 Albanian women in front of the American Center in Prishtina. The women shouted slogans against war, and for U.S. support for Kosova.

Kosova Information Center

STATEMENT Nr.1/III/98.

BY THE COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS ON THE LATEST TERROR PERPETRATED BY THE PUNITIVE POLICE SQUADS IN THE ALBANIAN VILLAGES

The villages of the municipalities of Skenderaj and Gllogoc were yesterday and at this day subjected to massive attacks by the Serbian special police and paramilitary forces against the Albanian settlements in these regions. Based on the latest informations from the spot, 5 Albanians have been reported dead yesterday. We have been also informed be reiable sources that another 7 Albanians were shot down in the village Qirez of Skenderja, of whom 4 belonging to one family. It is believed that the number of killed and wounded is much bigger. At this very day, the shootings started at 7 o'clock a.m.. We have been also informed by our field associates that at this morning 2 Albanians were killed in the village of ^ikatova e Re. Last night from Ferizaj, there were noted two buses with new fresh police forces heading toward Municipality of Skenderaj, however at this very morning, from Mitrovica were noted in the same direction large armored police forces. Today about 8 o'clock a.m. from the Komoran cross road were noted large armored police forces, 80 vehicles, including both the tanks and heavy arms, heading to villages Likoshan and Pokleku i Ri. Shots and random shooting are being heard too. In the village Polac of Skendarej special police forces were blocked, which were unblocked by large police forces later on, which came from Skenderaj. In the same village there were noted Arkan's paramilitary forces, however in the forest nearby, there are being lodged large Serbian police forces. There were shootings by fire arms in Skenderaj and Gllogoc today, but in Gllogoc, in the villages Zabel te Poshtem and Korotice of Skenderaj, the police forces have started to conduct house to house searches. We have also been informed by our field workers in Klina that about 9.30 a.m.large police forces including snipers and other sophisticated police vehicles headed in the direction of Skenderaj. Other details will follow later on.

March 1, l998 Information Service

Serb police retaliate after clash with Albanians

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net Copyright © 1998 The Associated Press

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (March 1, 1998 5:42 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- Serbian police searchedhouses and seized weapons in Albanian villages in the province of Kosovo on Sunday, ethnic Albanian officials said, a day after clashes killed at least 20 people. Meanwhile, the leader of Kosovo's Albanians appealed to the United States and the European Union to pressure the government to stop what he called police violence. "Urgent measures" are needed to prevent the Serb attacks against Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, Ibrahim Rugova said in a statement. The latest fighting has heightened fear of all-out war in the province, which borders on Albania and is seeking autonomy from Serbia. Saturday's clashes represented the worst single day of violence since the Kosovo Liberation Army began operating in 1996. The clandestine ethnic Albanian group has since claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks. The United States expressed concern and appealed for restraint but did not strongly criticize the Serbian authorities, according to a statement faxed Sunday to The Associated Press from the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. Gunfire and explosions could still be heard Sunday while police combed the area of the clashes in armored vehicles and helicopters, ethnic Albanian sources said. Police said they found large quantities of weapons, including hand grenades, mortar shells and explosives. Another prominent Kosovo Albanian politician, Fehmi Agani, visited the site and said large numbers of Serbian police forces appeared to be creating an "atmosphere of war."

A Serbian police statement carried by Tanjug news agency Sunday said police on regular duty were ambushed Saturday with hand grenades, automatic weapons and mortars near Glogovac, 12 miles west of Kosovo's capital, Pristina. Four policemen were killed and two seriously wounded. Police then killed 16 "terrorists" and arrested five in response to the attacks, the statement said. But a statement from the ethnic Albanians's self-styled government said Serbian police and paramilitary forces had attacked unarmed Albanian civilians, including women and children, in several villages. "Dead bodies could be seen lying everywhere, along the streets, on gardens, yards and fields," it said in a statement. "Huge Serbian forces supported by armored and other military vehicles" continued the operation on Sunday, the statement said. Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million residents are ethnic Albanians. Tension has been high in Kosovo since Serbia revoked the province's autonomy and introduced virtual martial law in 1989, deploying heavy police and army reinforcements. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic expressed condolences to the families of policemen killed Saturday, praising their "courage, patriotism and sacrifice," Tanjug reported.

-- By IBRAHIM OSMANI, Associated Press

BELGRADE, March 1 (Reuters) - in Serbia's mainly Albanian southern province of KoBetween 10 and 30 people died in fighting between Serbian police and ethnic Albanianssovo over the weekend, media reports said on Sunday.

The Belgrade television channel BK reported four Serbian police and six Albanians killed while unofficial Albanian sources told the Belgrade radio station B-92 that the overall death toll was 30.

It appeared to be the worst outbreak of bloodshed in two years of steadily deteriorating nationalist tensions in Kosovo where pro-independence ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs by nine to one among the two million population.

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has resisted U.S. and European efforts to mediate in the growing crisis despite the emergence of the

clandestine Kosovo Liberation Army (LAK) grouped around militants impatient with the political process.

B-92 said Sunday's victims included a family of four killed who were among seven people killed in a village near the central Kosovo town of Srbice.

The BK report said shooting around the province which began on Saturday had died down by Sunday evening.

The flare-up occurred less than a week after U.S. troubleshooting Balkans envoy Robert Gelbard visited the province to try to reopen a dialogue between the two communities.

He also condemned violence in the province, which, before this weekend, had already claimed more than a dozen lives this year.

The latest trouble was apparently sparked when Albanians ambushed a Serbian police patrol near the village of Likosane in Glogovac district on Saturday. The patrol was on its way to investigate a separate incident on Friday when a Serb refugee centre came under fire.

Two Serbian policemen and five Kosovo Albanians were killed in the ambush, Serbia's Interior Ministry said. It also said two Serb policemen were seriously wounded and that a serach for the attackers was under way.

The Serbian pro-government newspaper Politika said one Serb police officer was wounded when the helicopter he was riding in was struck by bazooka fire.

Beta news agency said a strong police presence was being used to surround the area and that tensions were running high.

The LDK said shooting could be heard in several villages in the Glogovac and Srbica areas on Sunday morning. It said 10 Albanian villages in the area were ringed by police.

Roads to the region, traditional bastions of Albanian nationalists, were closed on Sunday, witnesses said.

Responsibility for some of the deaths this year before the weekend violence has been claimed by the LAK. The dead included ethnic Albanians alleged to have collaborated with Serbian authorities.

Serbia, which considers Kosovo the cradle of its culture, revoked the

province's autonomous status in 1989 to prevent any bid for secession

and it sent in thousands of police and troops to maintain security.

Voicing the United States ``extreme interest and concern over the rising cycle of violence,'' Gelbard had condemned both the Serbian police and the LAK, which he called, ``without a question, a terrorist group.''

He urged democratic Albanians to condemn the LAK ``to show whose side

they are on.'' But at least one leader walked out of the meeting Gelbard was addressing, saying he did not condone violence but to condemn LAK publicly would be tantamount to ``political suicide,'' authoritative sources in Pristina told Reuters.

Albania urges Yugoslavia to end Kosovo violence 11:52 a.m. Mar 01, 1998 Eastern

TIRANA, March 1 (Reuters) - Albania on Sunday urged Yugoslavia to halt what it called escalating violence against ethnic Albanians in Serbia's volatile Kosovo province and called on the West to intervene

to prevent war.

Two Serbian policemen and five Kosovo Albanians were killed in clashes on Saturday after a police patrol was attacked in the province, Serbian police said.

``The Foreign Ministry of Albania calls on Belgrade to stop the escalation of violence and terror against Albanians in Kosovo because

the deterioration of the situation there carries big risks for peace in the Balkans and beyond,'' ministry spokesman Sokol Gjoka said in a

statement.

The ministry said a ``serious war situation'' had been created in the

village of Drenice as a result of Serbian military operations. It said there had been reports of Albanians killed and wounded, but did not say how many.

``Last night the region of Skenderaj was surrounded by a ring of steel by Serbian forces who treated Albanian families brutally,'' the ministry said.

Heavy police forces had surrounded the area near the village of Likosane where the clash happened and the situation was very tense, Belgrade news agency Beta said.

Beta said unidentified assailants opened fire late on Friday on a school in the town of Srbica housing Serb refugees from Bosnia and Croatia.

It quoted the Kosovo Human Rights Committee as saying that police armoured vehicles and helicopters were patrolling the region on Saturday.

Albania also called on the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Contact Group which resolved the conflict in Bosnia to use their influence with Belgrade to stop the Serbian violence in Kosovo and convince Serbia to talk to

ethnic Albanian leaders.

``We appeal to the EU, the Contact Group, the OSCE and the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France to use their influence

with Belgrade as soon as possible...to prevent a possible war there before it's too late,'' the Foreign Ministry said.

About a dozen people have been killed in mounting violence this year in Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs nine to one.

Serbia removed the province's autonomy in 1989, prompting a boycott of official institutions by Albanians who established a parallel government.

Sunday, March 1, 1998 Published at 19:43 GMT BBC

World: Europe

Violence erupts in Serb province

The situation in the Serbian province of Kosovo appears to be deteriorating following a weekend of violence - the worst seen there since 1996.

Serbian police in armoured vehicles sealed off parts of the mainly ethnic Albanian province.

They carried out house-to-house searches in a number of central towns and villages around Glogovac and Srbica.

There has been a weekend of clashes between police and suspected ethnic Albanian separatists, in which at least 20 people are reported to have been killed.

Albania has called on the authorities in Belgrade to stop the violence, which it says could destabilise the region.

Belgrade is already under international pressure to ease tension by giving Kosovo more autonomy.

Mounting tension

The BBC correspondent in the Albanian capital, Tirana, says the violence in Kosovo is the worst seen there for a long time.

Tension has been increasing in the region for many months, but now it appears to be escalating at a more alarming rate.

At least seven people were killed in the weekend's shootings. Two of them were Serb police who were said to have been ambushed by ethnic Albanians.

There are reports that even more may have lost their lives. The main ethnic Albanian party in Kosovo says at least 15 Albanians died and 21 were wounded.

Reports said Serbian police in the region were being reinforced with armoured personnel carriers.

Students in the capital, Pristina, are threatening to hold demonstrations on Monday which may further destabilise the situation.

Ethnic balance

Ninety per cent of the people in Kosovo are ethnic Albanians, but they are ruled by the Serbs.

They want more autonomy, but the authorities have resisted such moves.

The Serbs see Kosovo as the cradle of their culture and refuse to give it up.

The BBC correspondent says the Serbs have been accused of conducting grave human rights abuses against the Albanians.

Violence has increased there over the last year following the emergence of a guerrilla movement called the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Kosova Information Center Kosova Daily Report #1359 Prishtina,2 March 1998

Tens of Thousands of Albanians Protest Peacefully in Prishtina

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - At 10:00 o'clock today (Monday), tens of thousands of Albanians turned out for a peaceful protest manifestation in Prishtina, capital of Kosova, to show solidarity with the Albanian population of the Drenica region of Kosova. Huge Serbian forces mounted Saturday and Sunday attacks on Albanian villages in Skenderaj and Gllogovc municipalities. There were scores of Albanian casualties. The Serb regime put the number of killed Albanians at sixteen. The coordinating council of the Prishtina branches of Kosova political parties called the citizens of Prishtina to stage a one-hour peaceful protest Monday, from 10:00 through 11:00 hrs. Protesters marched silently, with only e few slogans displayed in solidarity with Drenica people.

Police Cracks down Brutally, Injuring Scores of Protesters

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) -The Serb police cracked down brutally on peaceful protesters in Prishtina at 10:45. Eye-witnesses said in front of the Faculty of Philosophy two university professors, Dr. Ali Zatriqi (Medical Faculty) and Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu (Faculty of Law), secretary-general of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) were beaten up brutally. The latter apparently suffered an arm fracture. Private health clinics in Prishtina speak of over 100 Albanians who have sought medical care in the wake of crackdown. Huge Serb forces have waded into and brutally dispersed the peaceful rally. The KIC is receiving reports about an increasing number of Albanians injured during Serb police crackdown.

Kosova Information Center Last page!

UNIVERSITY OF PRISHTINA STUDENTS INDEPENDENT UNION

Prishtina, 02. 03. 1998

Dear Madam/Sir

We are informing you that the situation in Kosova is at the edge of escalation. The police repression is increasing each moment. Enormous large Serbian police and military force with heavy armament came from Serbia in Kosova these days, and they are mostly concentrated in the region called Drenica, where the entire population, 100% of them, are Albanians. These Serbian Police and military forces are terrorizing the albanian innocent population there. Only during the Saturday night, between the February 28 and March 1, tens of Albanians were killed and also tens of them were wounded. 4 members of one family were killed. The terror on the villages of Drenica is still going on, and the whole region is surrounded from those police and military forces, so there is no chance to help the innocent Albanian population which is under unseen terror. There is no chance to give medical aid to those wounded people. Also the police cut off the phone lines and electric power of the region of Drenica. Due to this there is very hard, almost impossible, to get information from that region. The Coordinating Council of all the political Parties in Prishtina today has announced that tomorrow, on March 2, from 10 until 11 o'clock, in all the streets of Prishtina, protests are going to be held on support of population of Drenica. We in the SIUUP have called the students of our University to support this initiative and to take part in these protests. We appeal to you, to do everything you can, to use all your influence in order to help us in preventing the escalation of situation and war in Kosova.

Sincerely Yours,

Bujar Dugolli, president

Police break up massive Kosovo demonstration

The Associated Press

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (March 2, 1998 07:01 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- Beating demonstrators as they fled into side streets, Serb riot police broke up a rally Monday by tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians protesting weekend killings. That followed an unprecedented weekend of ethnic violence in Kosovo in which at least 20 people -- 16 Albanians and four Serbs -- were killed, heightening fear of all-out war in the province, which borders Albania and is seeking autonomy from Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. The demonstrations in downtown Pristina, Kosovo's capital, were called by ethnic Albanian parties. The crowd -- estimated at 30,000 -- waved their fists at a police helicopter overhead and chanted: "We'll give our lives, but we won't give up Kosovo." Firing water cannons and tear gas, hundreds of helmeted riot police charged the demonstrators, driving them apart, then chased and beat them as they fled. Some of the demonstrators were left bleeding. Local Serbs waved to the police from house windows, congratulating them on the swift action. The clashes over the weekend were the worst violence since the emergence of a clandestine militant organization -- The Kosovo Liberation Army -- in 1996. The group has since claimed responsibility for attacks that have claimed nearly two dozen victims. The United States appealed Sunday for restraint but did not strongly criticize Serb authorities. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who clamped down on Kosovo in 1989 while Serbian president, warned against outside interference, saying Kosovo's problems could be solved "only in Serbia." Gunfire and explosions could be heard Sunday while police combed the area of the clashes in armored vehicles and helicopters. Police said they found a large quantity of weapons, including grenades, mortar shells and explosives. Serbian police said officers on regular duty were ambushed Saturday with grenades, automatic weapons and mortars near Glogovac, 12 miles west of Pristina. Four Serbian policemen were killed and two were seriously wounded. Police then killed 16 Albanian "terrorists" and arrested five, police said in a statement. But a statement from the ethnic Albanians' self-styled government said Serbian police and paramilitary forces had attacked unarmed Albanian civilians, including women and children, in several villages. Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million residents are ethnic Albanians. Tension has been high in the province since Serbia revoked its autonomy and introduced virtual martial law in 1989, deploying massive police and army reinforcements. The leader of Kosovo Albanians, Ibrahim Rugova, has appealed to the United States and the European Union to pressure Serbia to stop what he called police brutality.

By SRDJAN ILIC, Associated Press Writer

Kosova Information Center KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1359 Prishtina, 2 March 1998

Second Edition

Serb Driver Deliberately Runs Over Protesters, Four Gravely Injured

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - In front of the Institute of Albanian Studies in downtown Prishtina four protesters were crushed down by a car, two eye-witnesses told the Kosova Information Center. The building of the Institute of Albanians Studies has for four years now been occupied by Serbs. During a peaceful protest manifestation, a Serb driver deliberately drove down the road where several thousand protesters were rallying peacefully and crushed down four of them, the eye-witnesses said. The car was a Kragujevac-made Zastava 101 of a light green color, with the Prishtina license plate. Three young men and a young lady were crushed. The car drove down the road and crushes with a cannon water vehicle, which was there to intervene against the protest. When the mass of people swarmed in the direction of the Serb criminal, the Serb police went to his aid, shot in the air and arrested one Albanian.

Serb Police Beats Albanian Women and Children at Their Homes

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - Eye-witnesses told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) Serb police broke into several Albanian flats in the Ramiz Sadiku alley in downtown Prishtina during a one- hour peaceful protest of tens of thousands of Albanians today. The Serb police beat Albanian women and children because of having showed up in balconies and windows to show solidarity with the street protests. Serbs living in the blocks of flats in the Ramiz Sadiku alley were said to have shown sympathy for the brutal Serb crackdown against their Albanian neighbors.

Serb Students Offend and Throw Stones at Albanian Protesters

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - Serb students have provoked today the mass of peaceful Albanian protesters in downtown Prishtina. Serb students offended Albanians and threw stones and pieces of glass at them from the building of the Faculty of Philosophy and the Students Dormitory, both of them under Serb administration since 1991, when Albanians were forcefully kicked out by Serb regime. Two protesters were reported injured on the occasion. Scores of Serb students came out of the Students Canteen, initially shouted insults, later started physically assaulting Albanian protesters. President Rugova Discuses Recent Situation with U.S. and British Diplomats

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - Sunday evening, the President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova received for talks Belgrade and Prishtina-based diplomats of the United States of America and Great Britain to discuss the current developments in Kosova. Mr. Nicholas Hill, First Secretary in the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Mr. Julian Braithwaite, First Secretary in the British Embassy, and Mr. Richard Huckaby, Director of the USIS Office in Prishtina expressed the deep concern of their governments over the escalating violence in the Drenica region during the lasts weekend which resulted in a large number of casualties. The US and British diplomats said they have been closely watching the developments and have been reporting to their governments. They urged for restraint and all efforts to prevent the situation from further escalating and slipping out of control. President Ibrahim Rugova reaffirmed the commitment of the people of Kosova to a peaceful and nonviolent resolution of the Kosova crisis. He underlined the need for urgent action on the part of international community, U.S. and EU in the first place, to make the Belgrade regime bring an end to the mounting violence against the people of Kosova, and to encourage an early dialogue between the leadership of Kosova and Serbia.

LDK Leaders Meet with American and British Diplomats

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - Yesterday (Sunday) evening, senior members of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) - Fatmir Sejdiu, Naip Zeka, Ms. Edita Tahiri, Rexhep Gjergji and Abdyl Ramaj - met in Prishtina with Nicholas Hill, First Secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Julian Braithwaite, First Secretary of the British Embassy in Belgrade, and Richard Huckaby, Director of the USIS office in Prishtina. The most recent situation in Kosova was discussed. Fatmir Sejdiu and Abdyl Ramaj informed the foreign diplomats about the latest developments in the Drenica region in the aftermath of the brutal crackdown of Serb forces in several villages of Drenica, which resulted in a huge loss of life among the local Albanian population. The LDK officials said the Serbian police prevented Albanian doctors and international and local humanitarian organizations from entering the region in order to provide medical assistance to the wounded. LDK officials demanded urgent international preventive measures to stop further escalation of the situation. Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu and Abdyl Ramaj, together with other senior LDK members, visited Skenderaj yesterday morning.

KIC Building Under Strict Serb Police Watch

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - The area in Prishtina where the building of the Kosova Writers Association (KWA) is situated has been kept under strict watch by Serb policemen today. The Office of the President of the Republic of Kosova and the Kosova Information Center (KIC) operate in this building and an accessory one. Two policemen standing nearby warned passers-by not to pass along the road in front of the KWA. You will be responsible yourself for entering there! - a policeman told the wife of a KIC staff member. At 1:20, the police stopped Mentor Zeqiri and Afrim Gashi, technical staff members with the President' s Office, who were on their way to the Office. The police brandished weapons at them, threatening they would open fire should they did not obey their orders.

Leading Journalists Beaten Up by Police

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - Among those beaten up by Serb police today during the peaceful protest of tens of thousands of Albanians are Ibrahim Osmani, correspondent with the Voice of America Albanian Section, Avni Spahiu, editor-in-chief of the Bujku daily newspaper, and Veton Surroi, editor-in-chief of the other Albanian daily Koha ditore. Meanwhile, among those having suffered injuries today are Albanian students Xhemile Asllani (f) and Flutura Krasniqi (f). They are said to have suffered back and leg injuries near the Xhevdet Doda high school in downtown Prishtina.

Thirty Thousand Albanians Protest in Downtown Podujeva

PRISHTINA, March 2 (KIC) - Sources in Podujeva reported today that some 30.000 Albanians gathered in downtown Podujeva to protest peacefully against the mounting Serbian regime violence and terror against the Albanian people of Kosova. Students of the three secondary schools in town joined the protest rally. The Podujevans protested to show solidarity with the Drenica people, who have borne the brunt of Serb police and paramilitary crackdown over the past few days. The protesters dispersed peacefully. No police intervention reported.

KOSOVO VIOLENCE ESCALATES

BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA -- Tensions are running high in the troubled Kosovo region on Sunday as local media reports come in of 25 escalating violence between police and ``unidentified persons dressed in army fatigues.'' However, there is still no official confirmation of the reported clashes from the Yugoslav authorities, and there are conflicting media reports about the number of killed and injured. The state-owned newspaper 'Politika' 30 quotes the Kosovo Albanian political leadership -- the DSK -- as saying that ``at least 15 ethnic Albanians had been killed and 27 injured'' by Sunday morning in clashes which ``broke out near to the village of Likosane in Glogovac on Saturday.'' 'Politika' also reports that three Serbian policemen have been killed so far in 35 the conflict.

But state Radio Pristina, broadcasting from Kosovo's capital, put the ethnic Albanian death toll at 10, and said that 6 Serbian policemen have been killed and 6 injured so far. Meanwhile journalists from the independent Albanian-language newspaper 40 ``Koha Dittore'' say the number of dead ethnic Albanians isa as high as 25. Koha gave no figure for Serb casualties.

The Kosovo Albanian human rights organistion ``Kosovo Board for Human Rights and Freedoms'' told Radio B92 on Sunday at noon that the violence was on-going and that 30 heavily-armed police 45 vehicles and several helicopters had also been sighted moving towards Likosane mid-Sunday morning. However there is still no official confirmation of any military build-up near to Likosane.

Confirmed clashes on Friday and Saturday between Serbian police forces and Kosovo Albanians in Likosane left seven dead. Serbia's 50 Interior Ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying that two policemen were killed and two seriously wounded when, as the Ministry termed, terrorists ambushed a police patrol near the village of Likosane on Saturday at noon. The Ministry statement said Serbian police retaliated killing five members of what it 55 identified as a Kosovo Albanian terrorist gang. Local media report that strong police forces then moved in to surround the area.

KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY KILLS THREE

BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA -- The clandestine Kosovo Liberation Army -- the OVK -- has claimed responsibility for killing three civilians 60 in Kosovo in January, 1998. The OVK says it shot dead two ethnic Serbs and one ethnic Albanian. It says it shot Desimir Vasic -- one of the two Serbs killed -- because it says he was a criminal and worked for Arkan -- a former leader of Serb paramilitary forces in Bosnia. The OVK says it killed the ethnic Albanian 65 Mustafa Kurti for collaborating with Serbian authorities