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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frederic Conrad who wrote (15246)	11/10/1999 11:46:00 AM
From: Frederic Conrad	Respond to of 17770

OCTOBER 30, 17:42 EDT NATO Ups Security for Kosovo Serbs By MERITA DHIMGJOKA Associated Press Writer PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - NATO has accelerated efforts to protect Serbs in Kosovo, deploying troops to sensitive areas in a show of force to discourage attacks, the top commander in the province said Saturday. Gen. Klaus Reinhardt's comments came days after a mob attacked a convoy of Serb refugees fleeing the province under NATO escort. The attack underlined the fragile peace in Kosovo months after peacekeepers were deployed. ``We have increased security, and I think the situation has been improved, but there are many mad men running around in this country, just waiting for (peacekeepers) to withdraw, so they can do their nasty things,'' Reinhardt said during his first news conference since taking over as commander in Kosovo three weeks ago. Thousands of Serbs have fled the province since NATO forces entered in June. The mass exodus has been prompted by fear of ethnic Albanians seeking revenge for atrocities committed during the 18-month Serb crackdown that left 10,000 people dead. Of the 200,000 Serbs in Kosovo before NATO's 78-day air campaign, an estimated 20,000 to 100,000 remain. More than a week ago, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson pledged to address the rash of violence against Kosovo's minority Serbs, insisting the alliance would not allow any ethnic group to rule the province. The NATO commander has more forces at his disposal than his predecessor, British Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson. There are 45,000 troops in Kosovo, up from 40,000, he said. Reinhardt said the ethnic Albanian population should do more to cooperate with NATO peacekeeping troops and U.N. officials in tracking down criminals. The German general also criticized his own forces for failing to thwart an attack Wednesday by ethnic Albanians, who circled dozens of Serbs traveling through Kosovo's third largest city under NATO protection. UNHCR officials in Kosovo have condemned an attack on a convoy of Serb civilians, which has left up to 8 people missing. The crowd set fire to vehicles and forced dozens of evacuees to take refuge in an Italian military garrison. Eighteen people were injured. ``I was furious to see what happened, to see that we were not doing a very good job there,'' Reinhardt said. He added that he had reprimanded NATO commanders involved. Meanwhile, ethnic Albanian villagers removed eight bodies from a charred stable Saturday. Villagers from Makrmal, 25 miles west of Pristina, were also searching for five others who have been missing since Serb forces swept through the village March 31. The village was located in the Drenica region, a stronghold of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the target of the crackdown by forces loyal to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.