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Kosovo Update Released by the Bureau of European Affairs, Office of South Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, February 22, 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(Editor's Note: With the progressive changeover of responsibility from KDOM to OSCE/KVM, the KDOM Daily Report has been replaced by this Update, which is published as material becomes available.)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 22, 1999

Most attention remains on developments at the Rambouillet talks where, on Saturday, the deadline for an agreement was extended until tomorrow. Meanwhile, the pace of events on the ground in Kosovo picked up over the weekend and today.

On Saturday, Serb forces shelled the village of Studentcane, forcing hundreds of ethnic Albanian residents to evacuate. We have no authoritative casualty reports from that action. A patrol of the OSCE/KVM was caught in the Studentcane shelling but reports that there were no casualties among verifier personnel.

On Friday, a F.R.Y. helicopter was hit by ground fire in southern Kosovo. It was able to make a safe landing at Prizren with one injured crew member and some damage to one engine of the aircraft.

Otherwise, Kosovo stayed fairly quiet over the weekend and today. The quiet, however, has been accompanied by extensive movements of VJ and police personnel and equipment. Several small convoys of armored vehicles and trucks were seen near Podujevo and Stimlje. There are reports also that the FRY is calling up reserve military units and arming some civilians over the past few days.

Yesterday, Serb authorities began restricting (often forceably) the movement and activities of OSCE/KVM patrols in the province. In Zur, a group of VJ soldiers entered the KVM office and ordered the personnel to evacuate themselves and their equipment. The KVM stayed and the incident is under investigation.

A Serbian police building at Roahvac was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG-7) on Sunday; no injuries were reported. Also on Sunday, a KVM patrol attempting to investigate the murder of two Serbs near Decovce and Mustiste was confronted by a hostile crowd and was forced to evacuate without undertaking the investigation.

The U.S. embassy in Belgrade evacuated all but essential personnel over the weekend. As of today the mission is down to a core staff of 23. Many other embassies have also evacuated some or all of their personnel from Belgrade.

The U.S. KDOM Mission in Pristina departed Kosovo completely over the weekend and is now headquartered in Skopje from where it will watch developments for the foreseeable future. The KVM remains on alert standby status and is prepared to depart quickly should the evacuation order be issued. The UNHCR reports that 55 NGOs (seven or eight of which have international staffs) continue to operate in Kosovo.

[End of Document]

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