Kosova Daily Report #1692, 99-02-13
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1692
Prishtina, 13 February 1999
First Edition: 15:00 CET
Second Edition: 17:00 CET
CONTENTS
[01] Powerful Explosion in Downtown Ferizaj, at Least Seven Wounded
Albanians
[02] Rambouillet Conference on Kosova In Its Seventh Full Day
[03] Serb Police Executes Albanian, Rexhep Rexhepi, from Gllogovc Village
[04] Llapashtic& Reportedly Shelled by Serb Forces Today
[01] Powerful Explosion in Downtown Ferizaj, at Least Seven Wounded
Albanians
Two members of the Roma community were wounded, too, sources said
PRISHTINA, Feb 13 (KIC) - A powerful explosion in the center of the town of
Ferizaj ('Urosevac') early afternoon today (Saturday) resulted in at least
seven Albanians being wounded, local LDK sources said.
The explosion - whose nature has not been described - occurred at 12:50 CET
in the main square of the town, between the Town Hall and the Jugobanka
bank, they added.
Ferizaj is 38 km south of the Kosova capital, Prishtina.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, the site was sealed off by
heavy Serb police and military troops. A heavy presence of Serb forces has
been reported in other parts of the town of Ferizaj.
Initial reports said the following Albanians were wounded: Shefki Behluli
(57), resident of Bibaj village, received wounds in the head and arm; Agron
Imishti (28), resident of Ferizaj; Shefqet Sulejmani (47), resident of
Rahovica village; Basri Sejdiu (41), resident of Ga^k& village; Agron
Mustafa (21), resident of Pleshin& village; Ramadan Mjaku (37), resident of
Sllatina village of Viti municipality, received wounds in the head; Sadik
Hasani, resident of Sazli village, wounded in his workplace, in the
Jugobanka bank.
Shefqet Sulejmani and Basri Sejdiu were taken to the Prishtina hospital,
whereas the rest to health centers in Ferizaj.
Friday is a weekly market day, so there was a huge crowd of people in the
center of Ferizaj today.
Meanwhile, local sources said two members of the Roma community, Sami
Mehmeti (17) and Rafiz Asini (17), both residents of Ferizaj, were also
wounded in the explosion today.
[02] Rambouillet Conference on Kosova In Its Seventh Full Day
PRISHTINA, Feb 12 (KIC) - Today morning, the group on political issues of
the Kosova delegation at the Rambouillet conference handed over its
comments on the annex to the future Constitution of Kosova to the
international mediators, the KIC has learned.
Meanwhile, the annex on economic issues has been handed over to the Kosova
delegation to work on.
The leadership of the Kosova delegation - Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, Rexhep Qosja
and Hashim Tha^i - met today with a delegation of the U.S. Congress, led by
Rep. Eliot Engel and Rep. Sue Kelly.
The U.S. legislators held a press conference today, in which they expressed
their delight that the Kosova delegation worked in unison and in a serious
manner in pursuit of an acceptable solution to the Kosova issue.
Reports from Rambouillet said half a dozen thousand Albanians from France
and other European countries staged a pro-independence of Kosova rally in
Rambouillet mid-afternoon today. The also chanted "U^K" [Kosova Liberation
Army] and [President Ibrahim] Rugova's name.
The French Foreign Ministry said Friday that the six-nation Contact Group
on former Yugoslavia would hold a foreign ministers' meeting in Paris
Sunday to discuss the Kosova crisis, namely to consult over the stalled
Kosova peace talks at Rambouillet and decide whether to extend them for a
second week.
The European Union has also called a meeting of all its 15 foreign
ministers for Sunday in Paris to coordinate their stand on Kosova.
[03] Serb Police Executes Albanian, Rexhep Rexhepi, from Gllogovc Village
The Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms
(CDHRF) refutes Serb regime allegations that he was a member of the U^K
PRISHTINA, Feb 13 (KIC) - Around 16:00 CET on Friday, the Serbian police
patrolling Komoran summarily executed Rexhep Hamit Rexhepi (32), resident
of Korrotica e Ul&t village of Gllogovc, the Prishtina-based Council for
the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms reported.
Mr. Rexhepi was shot dead by police while getting off his tractor, the
CDHRF claimed.
Citing Albanian eye-witnesses, the major Kosovar human rights' organization
denied today Serb regime media reports alleging that Rexhep Rexhepi, killed
by police yesterday, was a member of the Kosova Liberation Army (U^K).
The late Rexhepi has never been armed, nor was he armed yesterday, when
Serb police first ordered him to get off his tractor then executed him, the
CDHRF cited eye-witnesses as saying.
The Serb police collected the body of Rexhep Rexhepi in his house at
Korrotic& e Ul&t today morning and took it to the Serb-run Institute for
Forensic Medicine in Prishtina, the CDHRF said. The family was at the time
making preparations for the funeral of Rexhep Rexhepi, the CDHRF
concluded.
Meanwhile, the Serbian regime's Media Center in Prishtina said two Serb
policemen had been shot and wounded Friday afternoon on the Gllogovc -
Komoran roadway. It named the policemen as Lubisa Stojanovic and Ivan
Kostadinovic, and claimed an attacker, whose name is not reported, was
killed when police returned fire.
[04] Llapashtic& Reportedly Shelled by Serb Forces Today
PRISHTINA, Feb 13 (KIC) - The village of Llapashtic& near the northern town
of Podujeva was being shelled by Serbian military forces today (Saturday)
afternoon, an LDK activist from Prishtina who travelled to Podujeva and
back, told the KIC.
The KIC has been unable to contact other sources on the ground in the
Podujeva area.
Llapashtic& is a stronghold of the Kosova Liberation Army (U^K) in the
Llapi region.
Belgrade has massed army tanks and troops in Llapi region since the four-
day-long Serb offensive around Christmas, which left 18 Albanians killed an
turned thousands of people into refugees.
Serb forces have been in combat positions ever since, and launched several
offensive operations against positions of the local Albanian resistance
forces in the past month, in clear violation of last October's ceasefire
and a local truce brokered by the international monitors in the aftermath
of the Christmas offensive.
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