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KDOM Daily Report Released by the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs, Office of South Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, December 17, 1998

Compiled by EUR/SCE (202-647-4850) from daily reports
of the U.S. element of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission

December 17, 1998

The cease-fire held today despite high tensions in the Pec area where police conducted a sweep of two villages in their search for those responsible for the killing of six young Serbs in a cafe on Monday. The sweep and arrests were conducted by police after informing KDOM and OSCE/KVM of the operation. The sweep produced the arrest of three suspects in Glodjane (SE of Decani) which is a KLA stronghold. KDOM reported the police performed professionally in the operation. KDOM remained in the village following the arrests and continued to hear gunfire from the area north of Glodjane. Police told KDOM there were no casualties in the operation and that no villagers were detained except the three arrested.

Police also searched Pec itself for suspects in the cafe shootings. KDOM observed police positions established around an Albanian neighborhood, restricting movement into or out of the area. Police arrested four in that sweep. A group of nine ethnic Albanian residents came to KDOM to express fear that the police would conduct indiscriminate searches and arrests in their neighborhood. KDOM, which now has a permanent base in Pec, will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Senior KLA officials again denied the KLA was responsible for the Pec shootings. The Pec zone commander is reportedly undertaking a personal investigation of the attack and the KLA general staff promises to issue a statement very soon. KDOM conducted a patrol to Orahovac, through Malisevo and Banja where it encountered uniformed KLA. KDOM also observed two unauthorized police checkpoints on the road to Sipitula (SW of Obilic). KDOM will raise these with the deputy Kosovo police commander on December 18. Police claimed four small-arms attacks on December 16 against their patrols, one in Rasic, one in Malisevo, one in Rznic near Decani, and one in Crnoljevo near Stimlje.

KDOM met with the local vice president of the Mother Teresa Society (MTS) to discuss the organization's delivery problems. KDOM pledged to work more closely with the MTS to improve their freedom of movement to deliver the much-needed assistance. KDOM passed a request for food and clothing from villagers in Sipitula to the ICRC and UNHCR. The villagers said their supplies stopped coming about five months ago when a MTS driver was wounded.

KDOM spoke with villagers in Jablanica (SW of Klina) who report their village has had no electricity for a year. 90 children live in the village and attend an Albanian school. The village's one doctor has no medicine. They also have reported to the ICRC that several villagers are missing.

KDOM ran 23 missions today with 32 mission-capable vehicles and 150 personnel.

[End of Document]

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