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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 23, 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to OSCE/KVM, the KDOM Daily Report has been replaced by this Update,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 23, 1999

Talks between Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and President Milosevic in Belgrade yesterday followed talks between the F.R.Y. President and the tripartite Contact Group negotiators, Ambassadors Petritsch, Mayorskiy, and Hill. At its end, the Contact Group's session with Milosevic was described as "unproductive." Following the initial Holbrooke meeting, F.R.Y. state television made it clear that Milosevic had continued to reject the autonomy plan negotiated by the Contact Group and signed onto by the ethnic Albanian Kosovars in Paris last week. A fuller readout of the Holbrooke-Milosevic meetings is expected to be released around mid-day today.

The departure over the weekend of all OSCE/KVM personnel from Kosovo has resulted in a shortage of reliable, credible, and objective information on conditions within the province. According to sketchy reports this morning, it appears that fighting continues, especially in the Podujevo area. The KVM will remain headquartered in Skopje pending developments in Kosovo. As they departed the province, the OSCE verifiers' visas for Kosovo were canceled by F.R.Y. officials.

The humanitarian situation within Kosovo continues to worsen as NGO personnel depart for safety reasons. The UNHCR reports that an estimated 20,000 IDPs have resulted from the fighting in and around Glogovac. There are also an estimated 30,000 IDPs near Pristina according to other observers. While relief convoys are still able to move to deliver assistance, F.R.Y. police harassment of relief activities is increasing. Late yesterday, the UNHCR reported that the main highway from Pristina to Belgrade was closed to traffic -- apparently due to fighting north of the Kosovo capital. USAID reports today that two UNHCR truckloads of non-food relief supplies arrived in Pristina from Belgrade today. This will be the last delivery until the situation clarifies.

Today, the UNHCR reports the agency's status to be at a stage just short of evacuation. They maintain approximately 35 expatriate staff in Kosovo, some working with NGOs and some with the Red Cross. The agency is watching the draw-down status of embassies in Belgrade as a guide to their own policy. They report that the general security situation today remains unchanged but that there is a notable increase in weaponry all around them.

A bomb was thrown by unknown persons into a popular cafe in Pristina on Monday evening. Two diners were injured and the interior of the restaurant was damaged in the explosion. This was the latest in a string of incidents in the capital, where four Serb policemen were ambushed and shot dead Sunday night.

Early this morning, U.S. officials reported that Macedonian border guards were not permitting Yugoslav passport holders to cross into Macedonia from the F.R.Y. It is not clear how pervasive or long-lasting this policy will be. As the Kosovo crisis reaches a crucial point, Air France, Lufthansa, and British Airways canceled all their flights into and out of Belgrade. Alitalia, Swissair, and Olympic continue to service the F.R.Y. capital.

[End of Document]

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