10 April 2001
Kosovo Peacekeepers Fired at Near Macedonia Border
By Beth Potter
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (Reuters) - A joint U.S.-Polish peacekeeping patrol
has come under fire near the Kosovo-Macedonia border, a U.S. army spokesman
said on Tuesday.
Monday's shooting, which injured no one, occurred about nine miles south
of a helicopter crash the same day that killed two British members of the
KFOR peace force. But U.S. Major Jim Marshall said the two incidents
were unrelated.
The spokesman for U.S.-led peacekeepers said the patrol had returned fire
before leaving the southeastern pocket of Kosovo, where KFOR is trying to
neutralize ethnic Albanian guerrillas who attacked Macedonia last month.
``The shots were directed at KFOR,'' Marshall said. ``We're trying to determine,
if we can, the origins of this fire.''
Two British pilots were killed and five British soldiers aboard were injured
in the helicopter crash. London's Defense Ministry said the crash had occurred
in inclement weather and there was no indication that it was caused by hostile
fire.
Marshall added: ``There's no connection between the shooting incident southwest
of the town of Krivenik and the helicopter crash (near) Kacanik.''
A statement from British KFOR forces said the helicopter had been on a routine
patrol aimed at ``eradicating the extremist activity that has threatened
to destabilize the region.''
British Lieutenant Colonel Nick Brohaut said the helicopter had been carrying
soldiers who had just been picked up after a foot patrol in the mountainous,
wooded area.
'Interdicting' Guerrillas
Normal KFOR foot patrols continued, Marshall said. Last weekend, Polish troops
found four truckloads of weapons, tents and more than 100 sleeping bags believed
to belong to rebels.
``This is part of our continuing effort to interdict any flow of personnel,
equipment and supplies crossing the border illegally,'' Marshall said. ``We
cannot seal the border, but we're making life very difficult (for guerrillas).''
Fighting between Albanian guerrillas and the Macedonian army has abated in
the past 10 days since a shelling incident that left four dead, including
a British television news producer.
``Our assessment is that our interdiction efforts have been successful in
that area,'' Marshall said. ``They're not able to move the men and supplies
they want to get through there.''
KFOR is still investigating the shelling incident. Some NATO (news - web
sites) officials in Brussels have said privately they believe the Macedonian
army is responsible, something the army has denied.
Ethnic Albanian rebels calling themselves the National Liberation Army materialized
inside Macedonia last month, saying they were fighting for equal rights for
the small Balkan republic's large Albanian minority.
The Macedonian government says the insurgency was exported by Kosovo Albanian
militants bent on dismembering the country, and accused KFOR of failing to
secure the border.
Kosovo remains legally part of Yugoslavia but has been a de facto international
protectorate since June 1999, when NATO-led peacekeepers and a U.N.-led civilian
administration replaced repressive Serbian minority rule.
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