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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 28, 1998

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

December 28, 1998

In an increasingly familiar on-again, off-again pattern, the cease-fire held today as the two sides returned to apparent compliance with the OSCE Verification Agreement. Podujevo was again the focus: KLA forces reportedly withdrew a significant distance from yesterday's contested positions, and police and VJ units displayed limited disengagement there. No attack or fighting by either party was reported in the area today. The Serbian side again voiced their commitment to abide by the Agreement.

Severe winter weather and dense fog combined to make military operations nearly impossible elsewhere in Kosovo.

U.S. KDOM and an expanding KVM continued to press the KLA, the police, and the VJ to adhere to the cease-fire and to completely vacate their contentious positions in the Podujevo area.

U.S. KDOM met with the police chief at Urosevac, concerning the current situation in the village of Donja Plesina (SW of Urosevac). He confirmed that privately-hired police are guarding the water supply, and said that he had heard of no problems between the guards and the villagers. The police chief claimed that an Albanian who had been hired by the police to work in their warehouse had been kidnapped by the KLA and taken to Petrovo (S of Stimlje). He also told U.S. KDOM that the KLA has a prison located in Petrastica (NW of Urosevac), where most of the prisoners are ethnic Albanians.

U.S. KDOM observed police units in the town of Glogovac (N of Komorane), who restricted their presence to the hard surface roads. U.S. KDOM also spoke with local residents in the village of Terez (N of Glogovac), which was destroyed by the VJ and police last September. The villagers claimed that the VJ had poisoned some of the water wells, and said that electricity is sporadic. Only 30 families have returned to the village.

U.S. KDOM also followed a small VJ convoy of two armored cars and two Land Rovers south of the Donja Penduha airfield and into the Podulevo area.

U.S. KDOM observed that more families are beginning to move back into Malisevo, an area that is in dire need of humanitarian relief. North of Glogovac, U.S. KDOM spoke with the KLA liaison officer to try to reach an agreement to allow electrical power crews to repair downed lines.

In their daily report, the police claimed five small arms attacks against their patrols: one in Donja Lapastica, Podujevo municipality; another in Saptej, Decane municipality; one in Rznic, Decane municipality; another in Crnoljevo, Stimlje municipality; and the last in Luzane, Podujevo municipality.

U.S. KDOM ran only 11 missions today due to inclement weather. The force counts 140 personnel and 25 armored mission-capable vehicles.

[End of Document]

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