Kosovo: Tension on the border

Serb police in the buffer zone area last week

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By Alessio Vinci, CNN's Belgrade bureau chief

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- At the end of NATO’s bombing campaign last year Yugoslav forces withdrew from Kosovo, leaving the province in the hands of NATO soldiers (KFOR) and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

The end of the war was formalised by UN resolution 1244, and by a Military Technical Agreement that, among other things, prohibited the return of heavily armed Serb security forces to return to the province.

Under the same agreement KFOR vowed to disarm and disband the KLA. That agreement also marked the border lines between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia.

To reduce the chances of clashes a demilitarised buffer zone -- five kilometres wide on each side of the border -- was put in place between the two sides.

With the exception of lightly armed Serb policemen no heavy armament was allowed inside the buffer zone.

The buffer zone runs along the Presevo valley, which is Serb territory with a predominant ethnic Albanian population. The three major towns in this area are Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac.

Recent clashes between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serb police took place because the so-called Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (known as the UCPMB) want to reunite the Serb side of the Presevo valley with Kosovo.

The UCPMB is an offshoot of the KLA (now officially disbanded), but it does not enjoy the same kind of support by local villagers as the KLA did in the early stages of its struggle for independence.

The international community has also branded these separatists as “terrorists” and urged ethnic Albanian leaders to condemn the recent attacks and curb the violence.

UCPMB leaders however are still trying to gain influence in the area, and say they want to protect the local population from police harassment.

Local observers and international officials admit the UCPMB is receiving support from former KLA members, especially weapons and uniforms. KFOR troops intercepted several trucks loaded with arms, explosives and uniforms headed towards Presevo from Kosovo.

But so far the UCPMB is believed to be confined to a few villages on the border area, and counting no more than a few hundred active members.

Serb officials say in recent months the UCPMB has launched more than 90 serious attacks against Serb police. Last month an attack on the village of Lucane left four policemen dead. Others were forced to withdraw and abandon the village.

This attack sparked a Yugoslav military and police build-up in southern Serbia.

Yugoslav officials say the separatists are taking advantage of the fact Serb policemen are lightly armed in the buffer zone, and vowed to retake control of the region with all necessary means.

But during a recent trip in the region, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said he wants to resolve the crisis peacefully, and by abiding to all international agreements.

The army, he said, has been deployed for additional security, and will not enter the buffer zone but Kostunica also pointed the finger at the NATO forces in Kosovo, saying that they had been incapable of controlling the flow of weapons and separatist guerrillas into Serbia.

Kostunica demanded the international community take necessary measures to prevent heavily armed ethnic Albanian fighters from entering into Serbia proper.

KFOR increased its border checks and has sent two additional companies of British soldiers to clamp down on the guerrillas operating around the boundary.

The deployment of additional troops in the area is part of a six-point plan unveiled by NATO Secretary General George Robertson who visited Pristina recently.

Robertson urged ethnic Albanian leaders to crack down on armed separatists, and asked Serb officials to observe restraint in their response.

On the Serb side of the border special police units, including elite anti-terrorist squads, are patrolling the area, and are on the ready in case separatists guerrillas were to advance too deep into Serb territory.

A few days ago Serb police backed by two armoured vehicles retook control of Lucane, without meeting stiff resistance from the UCPMB, which in the meantime had declared a cease-fire.

All this prompted a new wave of refugees, especially ethnic Albanians, who have fled the area fearing an upsurge of violence.

Unlike in the past, the majority of the refugees arriving in Kosovo tell humanitarian aid officials that they are leaving the area as a precautionary measure, and not because they are been driven out by Serb police.

Serb police attacked on Kosovo border
December 4, 2000
Serbs capture strategic village from rebels
November 29, 2000

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