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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, March 9, 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(Editor's Note: With the progressive changeover of responsibility from KDOM to OSCE/KVM, the KDOM Daily Report has been replaced by this Update, which is published as material becomes available.)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

March 9, 1999

Yesterday, the KLA General Staff reportedly approved the Rambouillet Accords and authorized the head of the ethnic Albanian negotiating team, Hasim Thaqi, to sign the agreement. At the request of Secretary of State Albright, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is visiting Belgrade to emphasize to the F.R.Y. leaders the need for their compliance with their international obligations in the search for peace. In a meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Holbrooke will also urge President Milosevic and other F.R.Y. and Serbian officials to exercise maximum restraint in Kosovo as the resumption of the peace talks approaches. After meeting yesterday with German Foreign Minister Fischer and EU Commissioner van der Broek, Milosevic issued a statement once again excluding the possibility of NATO troops entering Kosovo as a part of a settlement.

There was some relatively low-intensity fighting yesterday in the vicinity of Kacanik and Zur, south of Prizren. There were skirmishes reported also in several other spots around the province but no major fighting. The F.R.Y. continues to move police personnel and re-deploy military units in various parts of Kosovo, indicating to many observers the increasing likelihood that they are planning some larger offensive against the KLA soon.

During this period leading up to the resumption of peace talks in France, there is also growing concern over the increasing interethnic violence in Pristina. The exodus of Serbian residents of the city continues, including the families of some Serbian officials who fear for their safety after the recent incidents of violence. The OSCE/KVM and KDOM are doing what they can to calm the situation and to urge restraint on both sides.

The Macedonian Government has announced the designation of special border-crossing points to be used for processing refugees attempting to make their way out of Kosovo. These points are to be employed if the flow of refugees accelerates in the future. The government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.) expects international assistance (UNHCR, NGOs, etc.) in accommodating any major refugee flow. The Skopje Government is presently providing safe-haven for several thousand displaced Kosovars.

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