Kosova Daily Report #1558, 98-09-20
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1558
Prishtina, 20 September 1998
CONTENTS
[01] AT LEAST 18 ALBANIANS KILLED BY SERB TROOPS IN LLAPI REGION THIS WEEK
[02] Eight Albanians Missing, 45 houses Burned in Two Villages
[03] Remains of Six Burned Albanians Found Near Dobratin Village of
Podujeva
[04] At Least Five Albanians Massacred in Ka^anoll Village of Podujeva
[05] U^K for Llapi Region Says Five of Its Fighters Killed
[06] Serbs Crack Down on Albanian Communities After Deadline for
Surrendering Weapons Expires
[07] Serbs Strike Against Refugees Attempting to Cross into Albania
[08] Two Villages in Drenica Come under Serb Artillery Fire Saturday and
Sunday
[09] Serb Forces Terrorize Albanians in Klina Villages, Central Kosova
[01] AT LEAST 18 ALBANIANS KILLED BY SERB TROOPS IN LLAPI REGION THIS WEEK
[02] Eight Albanians Missing, 45 houses Burned in Two Villages
PRISHTINA, Sept 21 (KIC) - At least 18 Albanians were killed, and 45 houses
burned in two villages, Dobratin and Ka^anoll, this week by Serbian
military and paramilitary police forces in the northern Llapi region of
Kosova, the Kosova Information Center (KIC) has learned.
Two Albanians, Maksut Islam Rekaliu (64), resident of Dobratin, and Fetah
Sefer Behrami (54), resident of Ka^anoll, were known to have died earlier
in the week, when heavy Serb troops backed up by 75 tanks and scores of
other vehicles were deployed in an area between the villages of Dobratin
and Baj^in&, 8 km north of Podujeva, from where the Shal& e Bajgor&s region
was attacked.
Two other Albanians, Jashar Fetah Behrami (28) was found killed in Ka^anoll
Friday, together with another man, still unidentified.
Likewise in Ka^anoll, three villagers were found killed: Ilaz Bali Hyseni
(82), Mihane Ram& Hyseni (f, 75), and Elez Begu (55).
The remains of six burned Albanians were found today (Sunday) in burned and
destroyed houses between the villages of Dobratin and Baj^in&.
Meanwhile, on Saturday the headquarters of the Operative Sub-zone for Llapi
region of the U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) issued a statement saying five
of its fighters were killed in fighting with Serb troops: Fadil Sejdiu,
Nazmi Zhegrova, Bekim Lushaku, Bekim Maliqi, and Habib Zeka. They will be
buried later in the day on Sunday.
Reports from Podujeva said eight Albanians have gone missing for five days
now: Ramadan Behrami (60), Muhamet Fazliu (36), Rrahim Ramadani (16), Ejup
Sejdiu (36), Beqir Lepaja (26), Rrahim Lepaja (28), Haki Rekaliu (35) and
Xhafer Ajvazi.
It will remain to be seen whether any of the missing could in fact be among
those whose burned remains have been found in three houses between the
villages of Dobratin and Baj^in&.
Twenty six Albanian farmhouses have been burned in the village of Dobratin,
and 19 in the neighboring village of Ka^anoll, which makes a geographic
whole with the mountainous Shal& e Bajgor&s village, straddling between
Podujeva, Mitrovica and Vushtrri ('Vucitrn'). [See related stories below,
"Remains of Six...", "At Least Five...", "U^K for Llapi..."]
[03] Remains of Six Burned Albanians Found Near Dobratin Village of
Podujeva
PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The remains of six burned Albanians were found
today (Sunday) in burned and destroyed houses between the villages of
Dobratin and Baj^in&, municipality of Podujeva, in the area where heavy
Serb troops were stationed earlier in the week during the Serbian attack on
Dobratin and the villages of Shal& e Bajgor&s.
LDK sources in Podujeva said two burned bodies have been found in the house
of Hazir Shemsi Rekaliu, three others in the guest hall of Fehmi Shemsi
Rekaliu, whereas one in the house of Rizah Rekaliu.
The three houses where the remains were found were burned.
LDK sources in Podujeva said the water in the well of Tefik Xhemajli in the
same area was red and stank. It was suspected of containing corpses of
killed people.
[04] At Least Five Albanians Massacred in Ka^anoll Village of Podujeva
PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - Sources in Podujeva confirmed today (Sunday)
that at least five Albanians were massacred in Ka^anoll village during a
Serb offensive in the Shala e Bajgor&s region this past week.
The Shala e Bajgor&s region - straddling the municipalities of Mitrovica,
Podujeva and Vushtrri in north-west Kosova - was targeted by heavy Serb
troops for three days last week.
According to estimates by a local Albanian organization, some 260 vehicles,
tanks, trucks and armored personnel carriers, and around 12.000 Serb troops,
were involved in the operations against Albanian villages in the area.
The LDK chapter in Podujeva confirmed that the following five Albanians
were slain in Ka^anoll village alone: Fetah Behrami (55), his son Jashar
Behrami (28), Ilaz Hyseni (82), Mihane Hyseni (f,75) and Elez Begu (55).
They were all buried on Saturday evening in the local cemetery in
Ka^anoll.
Another residents of the village, Ramadan Behrami, has been missing for
five days now.
The LDK named 19 families in Ka^anoll, whose farmhouses were razed during
the Serb bombardment. This small village has a total of 55 extended
families. The houses of many other families were badly damaged, it said.
Activists of the Podujeva LDK chapter who visited Ka^anoll on Saturday
afternoon described it as a ghost village. Only half a dozen residents,
mainly elderly, had stayed behind, they said.
[05] U^K for Llapi Region Says Five of Its Fighters Killed
It claims to have killed 100 Serb soldiers and forces Serb troops withdraw
PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The headquarters of the Operative Sub- zone for
Llapi region of the U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) issued a statement
Saturday claiming success in battling the Serbian military in the northern
Kosovar region from 15 through 18 September.
"The Serb attack was fierce especially in Qaf& e Ka^anollit (the Ka^anolli
mountain pass)", the U^K said, claiming that as many as 12,000 Serb
soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries as well as "Russian and Rumanian
mercenaries were involved in the offensive".
U^K special forces carried out guerilla warfare tactics and forced Serb
troops to withdraw from the villages of Llapi region, the statement said.
The Serb enemy destroyed Albanian property and arrested a number of
innocent, non-combatants, especially in the village of Dobratin, the
statement said.
Around 100 members of the enemy forces were killed by the U^K in the area
of Llapi making part of the Shal& e Bajgor&s region, and tens of motorized
and armored vehicles were destroyed, the statement said.
Five fighters of the U^K died heroically in action, the statement of the
U^K Llapi sub-zone said, naming them as Fadil Sejdiu, Nazmi Zhegrova, Bekim
Lushaku, Bekim Maliqi and Habib Zeka. Two villagers were killed by Serb
troops, too, the statement said.
Publication of the names of the fallen men has not been the rule, bur
rather an exception, with the U^K so far.
[06] Serbs Crack Down on Albanian Communities After Deadline for
Surrendering Weapons Expires
PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The villages of Damjan, Lipovec and G&rqin& in
the municipality of Gjakova saw themselves encircled for hours by huge Serb
troops on Saturday before they cracked down on the local population, local
sources reported.
The three villages were earlier last week given a two-day ultimatum to
surrender the weapons they allegedly possesses or else risk a reprisals.
The LDK chapter in Gjakova said the residents of Damjan, Lipovec and
G&rqin& who were still in the villages were holed up in houses and the
local school building in Damjan during the whole day, fearing an imminent
attack. Part of the population had fled homes once the Serbs announced the
ultimatum to these villages.
The Serb entered into the village in the afternoon and embarked on a brutal
campaign, the LDK information commission in Gjakova reported.
In Lipovec, the Serb troops set ablaze several farmhouses of the Halilaj
extended family.
Several Albanians, including Zenun Gjuraj and his son Ramush Gjuraj in the
village of G&rqina, were rounded up and taken to the police in Gjakova.
[07] Serbs Strike Against Refugees Attempting to Cross into Albania
The bodies of two other killed Albanians brought to town morgue Saturday
PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - Serb forces attacked a group of some 200
Albanians from Gjakova villages who were on their way to neighboring
Albania. The Albanians were attacked at a location called "Shpatulla e
Bobit" near Deve village, the LDK chapter in Gjakova reported.
The LDK chapter could not confirm if there were casualties there.
The Serb police brought Sunday the bodies of two killed Albanians to the
town morgue in Gjakova. Sources named one of them as Adonis Beci from
Gjakova, while the second one, a male in his early twenties, has not been
identified yet. The LDK chapter in Gjakova said it believed the two
Albanians were killed while attempting to cross the border into Albania in
the mountains.
Serb forces brought Saturday two wounded Albanians to the town hospital in
Gjakova: Avni Kadria (21), resident of Stub&ll village (Gjakova), and a 12-
year-old girl Shyhrete Bajrami from Strellc i Ul&t (De^an). No details
related to their health condition or the circumstances they were wounded
has been made available.
[08] Two Villages in Drenica Come under Serb Artillery Fire Saturday and
Sunday
PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - At around 11:00 a.m. today (Sunday), Serb forces
launched a heavy artillery attack against the villages of Prekaz i Ep&rm
and Klin& e Poshtme in the municipality of Skenderaj ('Srbica').
The two villages were fired upon from the huge Serb base in the former
ammunition factory near Skenderaj and from an outpost at a location 'Lisat
e Varreve', sources said.
These two village had also been pounded from the ammunition factory on
Saturday afternoon.
An eye-witness told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) that the Serb
forces cracked down around midday today on a suburb of Skenderaj itself.
There has been no word on possible casualties there.
[09] Serb Forces Terrorize Albanians in Klina Villages, Central Kosova
PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The LDK chapter in Klina said today (Sunday)
several thousand internally displaced persons (IDP) have been still camping
out in the mountains of this municipality. The IDP's are sleeping under
home-made plastic tents or even in make- shift tents covered with tree
branches and leaves, with scarce food supplies, and without medication.
LDK sources in Klina said the Albanians who stayed in their villages, as
well as the those who returned to their homes in the meantime, have been
subjected to everyday terror and intimidation by Serb police and armed Serb
civilians. It named the villages of Sferk&, Dush, Volljak&, Si^ev&, Gremnik,
and P&r^ev&, which have been particularly targeted by Serbs.
The LDK chapter in Klina named scores of Albanians who bore the brunt of
Serb campaigns of repression, including Ahmet Gashi (60) from Si^eva, and
four other old persons in Si^eva: Shaban Sherifi, Dem& Morina, Fetah Smajli
and Ahmet Brahimi.
At Vuljaka village, Serb police arrested 13 local Albanians last week. Six
were released after having been tortured badly, while the rest are still
being held in police custody.
At Si^eva village, Serb troops have occupied houses of local Albanians,
where from they attacked the outlying villages.
Serbs have burned many farmhouses in this village, abandoned earlier by
their Albanian owners in the wake oft Serb attacks.
Serb Police Shoots at and Wounds Pedestrian in Lipjan PRISHTINA, Sept 20
(KIC) - An Albanian, Sadri Luma from Grack& e Vjet&r village in Lipjan, was
reported wounded by Serbian police on Thursday.
The LDK chapter in Lipjan said Sadri Luma was wounded on the Prishtina-
Lipjan road when, together with a companion of his Ramadan Jashari, was
returning from the town to his village. The two Albanians were first halted
and ill-treated by a Serb patrol, the LDK said. After they were let go, one
of the policemen shot three bullets in their direction, wounding badly
Sadri Luma.
The condition of the wounded Albanian is not life threatening, the LDK
Information Commission in Lipjan said today.
Kosova Information Center
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