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KDOM Update Released by the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs, Office of South Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, February 8, 1999

(Editor's Note: With the progressive changeover of responsibility from KDOM to OSCE/KVM, the KDOM Daily Report has been replaced by this Update, which is published as material becomes available.)

Compiled by EUR/SCE (202-647-5624) from daily reports of the U.S. element
of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observers Mission and other sources

February 8, 1999

Today, and over the weekend, the attention of most of Kosovo was on Rambouillet rather than on developments in the province itself. As a result, there was not much activity reported on the ground.

The quiet weekend was shattered violently, however, on Saturday evening when a powerful bomb was detonated on Pristina's Vidovdanska Street. The explosion left three ethnic Albanians dead, including the proprietor of a small grocery shop on the street and a 15-year-old female passerby. Another person was injured in the blast which took place a few minutes before 7:00 PM. Police are investigation the bombing and have not yet issued any reports on the possible motive or perpetrators. Many in Kosovo believe the bomb to have been a comment on the talks at Rambouillet. Both Serb and Albanian delegations at the talks condemned the bombing.

The magistrate investigating the Saturday explosion permitted press and outsiders to view the scene from a distance of some 30 feet before clearing the area for more intensive scrutiny. He promised to keep KVM, KDOM, and the press informed on developments in the investigation. KVM and KDOM personnel played key roles on Saturday in facilitating the participation of KLA delegates in the Rambouillet talks. Local media portrayed the KLA participation as representing a "historical opportunity . . . to develop a friendly future . . . and reciprocal cooperation" between Albanians and Serbs.

There was some build-up observed in both police and VJ personnel concentrations at checkpoints over the weekend. On February 7, KDOM investigated allegations that the KLA had looted and damaged a house at the Devic monastery in Srbica. Officials of the monastery told the KDOM investigators that the KLA had stolen furniture, equipment, and flooring from the house and that KLA sharpshooters had killed a monastery pet dog. KLA denied the charges and observed that the house in question was recently occupied by the Serb police during fighting in the area. (Police had reported earlier that their personnel sent to the monastery on February 4 to investigate the looting charge had been attacked twice while passing through the village of Llausa.)

Police report that the body of a middle-aged man was found in the village of Marmule (Djakovica) on February 5. The victim had been shot. They also report having found three bodies on February 4 in a vehicle in the village of Gornja Luka near Decane.

Police also report that on February 5 Arben Rahmani of Orahovac was accosted by three men (one uniformed) in a vineyard at Pashki Dol Teca. After checking his identity papers, one of the men used his radio to ask whether the man should be killed or released. Before releasing him, the three questioned Rahmani about his relations with Serbs, how many Serbs were in his village, and what arms the Serbs have. He was warned not to return to the vineyard on penalty of death.

Six more of the Rogovo massacre bodies have been released to families. F.R.Y. authorities also promise to expedite release of the bodies from the earlier Racak massacre.

[End of Document]

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