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Kosova reports 1998
Chronicle of the week 11-17 Oct.

War has not stopped in Kosova apart from the Holbrooke-Milosevic arrangement

11 OCTOBER, 1998

Cerovik village of Klina was attacked today. Serb forces entered the village and embarked on a large-scale attack, burning farmhouses. Local population was never able to return to the village ever since the attacks during the summer months. One of the foreign TV crews managed to film the burning houses.

In Skenderaj municipality has shooting today also. Farmhouses of Makermal villages are set ablaze. An increase of Serb troops has been noticed since last night. These forces consisting of 19 vehicles, trucks and tanks, drove through Mitrovica and Skenderaj, heading for Likovc village. Shooting has been heard since last night at this village.

SHERIF BUZHALA (58) from Budakova village of Suhareka, fainted unconscious from being tortured by Serbs. He died yesterday. Police rounded up several villagers in Budakova on Friday, including GANI SALLAUKA (29) and ARIF DAKA (27); these two whereabouts are unknown.

IDP women and children are dying from poor medication and treatment. EMINE KURTAJ (1962) from Acareva village of Gllogovc died in Terstenik village where her family had found shelter earlier this year; she died during the time she was delivering her baby, which survived. RRAHIME BRAHIMI (30) from Plluzhina village of Skenderaj died today morning in Terdevc village; Rrahime is a mother of four children, and they fled for life from their village three months ago.
The child RRAHMAN MUHAMET BYTYCI (3) died in refugee camping sites of Sllapuzhan village. Small MIHRIJE SAHITI also died in camping site at Karvasari valley.

12 OCTOBER, 1998

Jezerc village of Ferizaj is sealed off for almost a month now. At least 13 Albanians have been slain by Serb forces in this village, and a considerably high number of others have been wounded during the offensive starting from 16 September. It is still under the siege. Otherwise, Serb forces have looted and set ablaze almost 100 houses. Elementary school has been burnt too. HALIT B. BIBA is reported to have been abducted. Around 800 Albanian residents have left the village, now living in the hills, without shelter, food, clothes and medication. Similar situation is reported in the next two villages of the area; in Nerodime e Eperme and Nerodine e Poshtme. Serb forces have looted and burnt over 100 farmhouses.

Serbs pound communities lived by Albanians in Malisheva municipality. Heavy artillery is being used against the villages. Elementary school in Bubavec village is burnt down. Several houses are burnt in Drenoc village. Accounts on material damages caused in Malisheva municipality are of 620 burnt farmhouses, and they go go like this: 45 farmhouses are burnt down in Balince village, 130 houses in Bubavec, 50 houses in Pllocica, 65 in Mlecan, 30 Albanian houses in Kijeva, otherwise all Serb houses remain untouched, 30 houses burnt in Drenovc, 25 houses in Terpeze e Ulet, 40 houses in Carralluke, 63 in Llapceve and 2 houses in Rud village. Scores of houses and shops have been burnt and levelled to the ground in Malisheva small town itself, including school buildings, religious shrines and other Ô Commission of Damages described the situation in Malisheve as critical, with tens of thousands of homeless people and an increase os Serb police and paramilitary units. These forces are digging around in the key positions, camouflaging not to be seen by foreign observers. Huge arsenal of weaponry has been hidden around the Sferke e Gashit village, in the neighboring municipality of Klina. Thousands of people are sleeping rough in the open or at homes without doors and windows.

Situation is volatile in Prizren area. Heavy Serb troops deployed near the Vllashnje village; par of the Serb forces headed towards the villages of Romaje, Dedaj, Lugishte and Kushnin in the Hasi region, ordering the local villagers to surrender all their weapons they allegedly possess, or risk harsh represals. Similar threats have been introduced to the residents of Konjush and Mazrek village. In Mazrek, police arrested MON KARAVIDAJ, OSMAN JAHAJ, KADRI JAHAJ, SALI HAMELI, QAZIM KARAVIDAJ, SELIM KARAVIDAJ, GEZIM KARAVIDAJ, DELI KARAVIDAJ, GANI KARAVIDAJ; some of them, after being brutally beaten up at a meadow close to the village, were released. In Konjush, police arrested: MUHARREM CUNAJ, SALI CUNAJ, AVDULLAH CUNAJ, MEHMET CUNAJ, DULLE CUNAJ, MON CUNAJ, MUHARREM CUNAJ and SALI CUNAJ. They are still in custody.

Seven wounded Albanians, GJOK NDRECAJ, ARBER SPAHIU, BISLIM BISLIMI, AVDI KRASNIQI and three others unnamed, were taken by the Serb police out of the hospital, saying that they are taking them to the Lungs Clinic; there are grave concerns about these people, as Serb police watches closely and even harasses, as well as physically ill-treats wounded Albanians in the Surgery Clinic in Prishtine.

Fresh forces are heading towards Drenica villages of Likovc and Makermal. They are digging in something at the location called Stubline, situated between Likovc and Mekermal. Sounds of heavy guns are heard from the direction of Acareve village. Serb forces virtually are opening fire in the direction of Drenica villages of Skenderaj and Vushtrri (Bivolak, Strofc and Gllavotin). Serb forces are deployed in border area between Kosovo and Serbia.

13 OCTOBER, 1998

Plluzhina. Serb forces backed up by heavy armament deployed since yesterday between the villages of Makermal and Likovc. Attacked the outlying hamlets of Plluzhina. Two days ago these forces burnt down the whole farmhouse of SALI BARANI in Klina e Eperme, his house, barns, his lorry, tractor, car and the framing appliances.

Local sources of Cermjan village of Gjakove say they have identified three out of four victims as CUFE BALAJ (78), MONE BALAJ (75F) and AJMANE DAUTAJ (70F); the fourth killed person is one young man. Otherwise same sources say that Serb troops have neither withdrawn from Decan nor from Gjakova area; they are rather repositioning and camouflaging in places that cannot be noticed easily by random passerby. These forces have been in particular garrisoning in and around industrial complexes. First snow has come in Suhareka hills, where thousands of IDPs live rough in the open.

RRUSTEM RRECI (60) had gone missing for over two months ago. He was found dead yesterday near his village of Llausha, municipality of Skenderaj. He was rounded up by Serb forces alongside with lots of his neighbors and taken to an unknown direction. No words on their whereabouts so far.

Serb forces are camouflaging their armament in the school of Cernica village of Gjilan; this village is a mixed one with Serbs and Albanians, and it has a very strategic location between Gjilan and Ferizaj, where both these towns and their sites can be pounded from.

Nadakovc police-checkpoint has become hell to all passengers who want to make any pass through, on either heading towards Mitrovica or towards Prishtina. Every single passenger goes through the detailed checking and intimidation. Seven Albanians from Drenica were brutally treated at this checkpoint. After being held on custody, in Vushtrri and ill-treated brutally, five of them have been released, but the other two are still detained.

14 OCTOBER, 1998

Heavily armed policemen are still in place by today in villages and roads of Skenderaj municipality. Llausha village for example, has 5 checkpoints, Likovc village has 3 checkpoints. Outposts are still in place near the villages of Polac, Makermal, Polluzha, Ternavc, Cubrel, Vitak, Runike, Suhogerlle, Padalishte, Lecina and Citak. The ammunition factory of Skenderaj still remains the huge base of Serb troops and armory since February 1998. In Likovc and Obri there has been shelling reported today.

Both Serb police and the Serb civilians have resumed looting the properties of Albanians in the villages of Klina. Livestocks and household commodities, as well as appliances have been loaded on lorries today and taken away from the region. Around 40 villages of this municipality are almost empty. Population fled during the repeated campaign of bombardment and attacks by Serb infantry. Thousands of houses have been burnt, destroyed or levelled to the ground. Due to the no change status, population is afraid to return to the not destroyed homes, because of the ubiquitous presence of Serb troops and intimidation driven by police and paramilitaries. Tanks are reported to have been moving towards the Klina area, others are planted in the ground around the hills and the bushes, especially at Volljake village mines.

SHPEJTIM KRYEZIU (18) from Suhareka municipality and LATIF GOLLOPENI (19) from Doberdolan village of Suhareke died near Ponoshec village of Gjakove, at the Kosova-Albania border zone. They walked into a mine-field laid by the Yugoslav army.

Heavy police forces cracked down against the Lleshaj family in Osek Hyle ()Osekhila) village of Gjakove. They brutalized the family members and arrested four of them. Without any warning police arrested and still keeps in detention LUSH DODE LLESHAJ (70), SOKOL DODE LLESHAJ (66), MAXHUN DODE LLESHAJ (42) and BESNIK LLESH LLESHAJ. Police and Yugoslav army troops have increasingly been moving in the streets intimidating and creating panic among the population. Electricity is cut to half of the town, which has at least 80.000 inhabitants and some 60.000 more as IDPs from the areas in war. Situation is desperate for IDPs, they are unable to return to their destroyed homes.

FIKRIJE BEJTUSH KLINAKU (9 months old) from Bivolak village of Vushtrri, wounded three weeks ago near her village, died in the Prishtina hospital. This baby-girl was wounded on the 22 September by a granade of the Serb army that hit the tractor in which Klinaku family was fleeing for life towards Cicavica mountain, during the huge Serb offensive. One of her family members died on the spot and several others were wounded.

LEJLA S. SMAKA (13F) from Mitrovica, school-girl at the elementary school "Muharrem Bekteshi" was beaten up by police at the schools yard.

Reports from the field say that about 100 young men, teenagers until up to 25 years-old have fled to the mountains near Volljake village of Klina, where the Serb forces are concentrated in huge numbers with armored vehicles and tanks planted in the grounds. There is considerable fear that the young men are in danger, as they are trapped alone.

15 OCTOBER, 1998

Villages of Cermjan, Krelan and Rakovice of the municipality of Gjakova have been fired today. Serb forces opened fire against these villages at 13.15 hours CET.

The villages of Melenica , Vidishiq, Bare and Bajgora of the municipality of Mitrovica were fired today for half an hour. Simultaneous fire started at about 19.00 hours CET.

Villages along the Malisheva-Kijeva roadway, including Ostrazub, Dragobil, Maxhare, Carralluke and Cupeve were attacked in distanceÔ reached also villages of Shkoze and Guriq. ADNAN PACARIZI was wounded by the time his village of Dragobil was being pounded with heavy artillery.

Serb forces sprayed with sniper and michine-gun fire the BAZAJ and BYLYTKBASHI family compounds along the area of Terstenik village of Gllogovc. BAHTIJE BYLYKBASHI (75F) could not be buried today because of the snipers intermittently shooting in the direction of Terstenik; she died on Wednesday.

RIFAT SMAKOLLI (18M) and DRITON SMAKOLLI (20M) from the village of Reshan, municipality of Mitrovice, died on the spot, as they ran on a loft behind granade. Sources say the granade had landed in the area during the Serb offensive late last month.

Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms said today that Serb forces have executed FIDAN JETULLAH BEKA (15) in front of his family members. He was executed on 23 September in his village of Gradice, municipality of Gllogovc, during the large-scale offensive against the villages in the area. His relatives buried Fidan's body today.

IDPs are dying in camping sites. DONIKA MORINA (9 months) from Shale village of Lipjan died in Terpeze village, where her family refuged two months ago; she died for lack of medication. Local teacher VELI A. OLLURI from Krojmir village of Lipjan died several days ago for poor and untimely medical treatment; he sustained slight wounds earlier this year. LEUTRIM KODRALIU (2) died in Ngucat village, where his parents are camping. LINDOR HOTI (2) from Malisheve died in the camping site of Pagarusha; he died for lack of medication and poor diet. His parents were afraid to take him to a hospital for treatment.

16 OCTOBER, 1998

Apart from the Holbrooke-Milosevic agreement, Serb troops are not withdrawing. In Drenica, ZYMER GOXHULI (33M) was heavily wounded and died shortly afterwords. His neighbor ISUF GOXHULI (28) received life-threatening wounds. They are both residents of Makermal village, which was pounded with machine-gun fire from a Serb police outpost located between this village and Likovc. Otherwise Serb troops are Serb troops attack Jabllanica village in Gjakova area these last two days. Troops based near Krelan village unleashed a heavy artillery attack against Jabllanica. Population of the village and surrounding hamlets are fleeing homes in panic. Several hundreds of them crammed the Catholic Church in Gllogjan just before midday. Krelan and Rakovice are being pounded too.

KIC reports that Albanian communities in Rahovec are still inside a Serb ring of steel. Serb police is digging in over the past days around the villages of Kramovik, Gur-Kuq and Polluzhe. They are even positioned at the elementary school premises of Kramovik.

Villages of Dragobil, Marali, Bubavec, Llazice, Carralluke and Maxhare, of the Malisheva municipality came under renewed Serb forces' fire. Attacks are coming from several bases in the area, including the Rahovec wine-cellars, where heavy Serb troops are reported garrisoned.

Camouflaged in Decan area, Ser troops are opening fire against the villages around during the nighttime. Heavy artillery is operated in the direction of the villages of Gramacel, Dubrave, Shaptej, Gllogjan and Ratish. Elderly people who remained at these villages before, are moving now in panic towards the villages of Isniq, Strellc I Poshtem, Lluke e Eperme and Prapacan.

17 OCTOBER, 1998

Instead of having some hopes for at least calm areas, at the time when the OSCE verifiers are coming, Prishtina seems to become a tense place. Detonations, shooting incidents are events of the day in Prishtina and Podujeva, damaging more than half a dozen of houses. In Kodra e Trimave (Vranjevac) quarter of Prishtine automatic arms shooting was heard. Fire came from the police station local people say. Many houses were fired upon from this police station. Bullets hit the house of MUSA JUSUFI and penetrated in his sleeping room; after a while police summoned him later, accusing him that allegedly the bullets came from his house. Ô TAHIRI during the one hour shooting at him. An unexploded granade was found in front of his house today morning. At least half a dozen houses were damaged from the shooting. Shooting came on PodujevA QUARTERS FROM THE Serb police station. ESAT Gashi from Podujeva was wounded; bullets hit at least on 7 Albanian houses. MALIQ JAHA WAS REPORTED ARRESTED. Serb media confirms the shooting but from their point of view. They say 3 policemen were killed and one wounded.

Villages of Malisheva are being shelled again. Shells with mortar and cannon fire are directed to the villages of Dragobil, Marali, Maxhare, Domanek, Mlecan, Llazice and Bubavec. Shells are said to have been landed in other villages too. So far casualties are not reported, although there is fear that there might be quite.

Four Albanians are reported to have been killed in minefield along Kosovo-Albania border, in the Hasi region. Three of them died in the spot, names are not identified yet. The fourth, HAMEZ UKAJ died of wounds in the Albanian territory. According to Ukaj's statement before dying, they were trying to cross the border when they ran into the minefield. Bodies of the three might have been collected by Serb troops, he is quoted as saying.

Reported by, Sevdie Ahmeti

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