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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 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to OSCE/KVM, the KDOM Daily Report has been replaced by this Update,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 the Department of State, EUR/SCE, Room 3253, (202-647-5624)
from reports of the U.S. element of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observers Mission,
the OSCE/Kosovo Verification Mission, and other sources

March 22, 1999

As fighting intensifies in parts of Kosovo, last-ditch diplomatic efforts are underway, including a meeting today between Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and F.R.Y. President Milosevic. Holbrooke will again emphasize to the Serb leader that NATO military action is imminent unless Milosevic takes immediate action to comply with his international obligations. The weekend saw heavy and sustained fighting between F.R.Y. and KLA forces in parts of Kosovo, as well as reported attacks by VJ and police on numerous Kosovar villages. The fighting was reportedly heaviest in the Podujevo region and around the Cicavica Mountains where VJ forces had reportedly forced the KLA from some of its strongest positions on Friday.

According to observers, Sunday was fairly quiet in Pristina. There were fire-fights and attacks of varying magnitudes in other parts of Kosovo, however. A KLA unit attacked a Serb police station in Srbica with rocket grenades and automatic weapons on Friday evening. The KLA also reportedly mined a bridge on the Drenica River in Glogovac on Saturday. A Serb police patrol was reportedly attacked by KLA forces along the Pristina-Podujevo road on Sunday.

In northern Kosovo, there were reports of new fighting near Kalin on Sunday and today. An attack by KLA on a police station reportedly resulted in Serb forces counterattacking with armor, mortars, and artillery. Press reports say that the main highway from Pristina to Serbia was blocked by fighting for several hours on Saturday.

The OSCE/KVM successfully evacuated all 1,400 of its personnel, along with some 300 vehicles and other equipment from Kosovo to Macedonia on Saturday. The organization will remain in Skopje indefinitely, awaiting word on when it can return to its important mission in Kosovo.

In response to the increased Serb military operations throughout Kosovo and reports of VJ incursions into Macedonia, F.Y.R.O.M. President Gligorov announced on Saturday that the Macedonia military has taken up positions along its border with the F.R.Y. The intensified fighting has also resulted in a wave of new Kosovar refugees seeking safe haven in Macedonia. The UNHCR estimates that the creation of more than 9,000 new IDPs has resulted from fighting over the past few days, and that some 70,000 IDPs have been created in the past 6 weeks. These figures bring the total of IDPs within Kosovo to around a quarter million. There are also some 30,000 elsewhere in Serbia, and about 25,000 in Montenegro. In addition, there are nearly 10,000 Kosovo refugees in Macedonia and some 18,000 in Albania. While the UNHCR and NGOs have sufficient provisions in storage to cope with the magnitude of the IDP situation, the evacuation of many NGO personnel is making the delivery of humanitarian assistance difficult.

[End of Document]

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