Information Service of LATEST NEWS FROM KOSOVO AND METOHIJA, MARCH 20, 2004 ERP KIM Info Service Prizren - situation calm The night has been calm and the morning normal. The refugee village of Novake was on the verge of evacuation last night and Serbs were scheduled to be transferred to the Austrian military base in Suva Reka yesterday afternoon. However, the Serbs refused to leave their restored homes out of fear that KFOR would not protect them after their departure. Significant KFOR forces are now present in Novake. In the mixed Serb/Bosniak village of Musnikovo in Srednjacka Zupa, someone has set fire to Serb barns. Serbs requested urgent assistance from the UNMIK civil administration in Prizren which informed KFOR and firefighters. This morning it was confirmed that three barns were burned but the panic has calmed somewhat. An increased number of members of the Kosovo Police Service is now present in Musnikovo. In the city of Prizren itself numerous burned Serb houses and Orthodox buildings can be observed. The extent of the material damage is not known. The only identified victim for now is Dragan Nedeljkovic (born 1950) whose burned body was shown on Albanian KohaVision TV. Pec - situation calm The situation near the monastery of the Pec Patriarchate is stable. The monastery is protected by strong KFOR forces. Near Gorazdevac the night was calm. Italian forces are protecting this village. Istok - situation calm In Istok a gradual normalization of the situation can also be observed. The sisterhood of the monastery of St. Nicholas in Gorioc is safe and under the strong protection of members of Spanish KFOR. The burning of the Orthodox church in the town, already damaged in 1999, still has not been confirmed. Also unknown is the fate of the church in Djurakovac, which had been partially damaged earlier, and the church in Vitomirica. According to information received yesterday the church in Pecka Banja has been burned. Decani - situation calm The remains of burned UNMIK vehicles have been removed from the road. The streets and sidewalks are being washed. UNMIK police vehicles are normally patrolling the streets. No demonstrations are planned for today. The mayor and party officials of AAK (the Alliance for the Future for Kosovo) have appealed for a complete calming of the situation. On March 24 a large commemoration is planned on the anniversary of the beginning of armed conflict in 1998 and police expect the presence of 40,000 to 80,000 people. The road to the "memorial dome" in the village of Glodjani was recently asphalted and a greater number of people is expected to attend than in previous years. The situation near the monastery of Visoki Decani is table. The presence of great numbers of KFOR troops can be observed and the area is frequently overflown by helicopters. Klina - situation calm An UNMIK representative is scheduled to go to Osojane today and meet there with Serbs who were evacuated from Grabac and find a solution for the livestock that remained there after the evacuation. UNMIK representatives visited Bicha yesterday and inspected the damage done. Currently one house has been burned and a second partially destroyed. Despite the presence of KFOR and the Kosovo Police Service both locations are tense. According to UNMIK assessments the present calm does not necessarily mean a lasting normalization of the situation. Yesterday representatives of UCK (KLA) veterans ordered demonstrations to disperse; it is not known whether they may be continued in coming days. Lipljan - situation calm Nenad Vasic of Lipljan died today of wounds inflicted, according to eyewitnesses and his own statement, by members of the Kosovo Police Service. He was in his house when it was attacked and then set on fire. As he was leaving the house, he was attacked by members of the Kosovo Police Service and seriously wounded. Vasic was rescued by members of UNMIK police who transferred him to the hospital in Lipljan where he passed away today. Members of the Vasic family state that many Serbs in Lipljan were seriously beaten up. Prizren - situation stable After today's removal of the blockade on the road from Pristina to Skopje, vehicles are normally passing on the road through Caglavica. Strong UNMIK police and KFOR forces are present which are searching vehicles and ensuring security to prevent further incidents. For now the situation is calm. Information from other parts of Kosovo and Metohija has not been received. |
