Wednesday, February 27, 2002
THE BALKANS QUAGMIRE
Muslim militants
threaten villagers
Serbians 'self-organize themselves with arms' for protection
Posted: February 27, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Toby
Westerman
In an area a few hundred miles from the heart of Europe, the inhabitants of
small villages have been forced to take up weapons in defense of their homes as
a result of armed "incidents" provoked by Islamic militants, according to Balkan
sources.
The activities of guerrilla bands have prompted the residents of mountain
villages in southern Serbia to "once again" establish "village guards," and
"self-organize themselves with arms" on account of "the small number of soldiers
and policemen" in the area.
The statements were carried by Radio Yugoslavia, the official broadcasting
Internet news service of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Serbia is the
larger of the two remaining members of the Yugoslav federation, the other being
the much smaller – and restive – Montenegro.
The guerrilla groups are ethnic Albanian militants fighting for independence
and, according to their opponents, an Islamic "Greater Albania," which would
eventually include Kosovo, the southern area of Serbia on the border with
Kosovo, northern Macedonia and Albania itself.
The militant ethnic Albanians have been tied to Islamic extremists, including
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization.
Village officials in southern Serbia fear that "extremists could burst into
the villages" and gain control of the area, as has previously occurred in the
neighboring municipalities of Presevo and Bujanovac.
The Yugoslav army did finally reassert its authority in the Presevo and
Bujanovac areas, but the area remains tense with still-active guerrilla bands.
There are "media reports that [gun]fire is heard more often in southern
Serbia on the border toward Kosovo," while police "in the region of Presevo"
have uncovered guerrilla arms caches, Radio Yugoslavia stated.
Southern Serbia has experienced two years of armed conflict between Yugoslav
troops and ethnic Albanian guerrilla forces, which Belgrade claims are trained
and equipped across the border in Kosovo.
Kosovo is nominally part of Serbia and a Yugoslav province but has been
controlled by NATO since the end of the 78-day air war against Yugoslavia. NATO
has come under persistent – and at times bitter – criticism for its governing of
Kosovo from several quarters, including Moscow.
Critics claim that NATO authorities in Kosovo are not rigorous enough in
suppressing armed Albanian militants who still operate in the province and who
supply other guerrilla groups operating in the region, including in neighboring
Macedonia.
The Macedonian deputy defense minister, Boris Zmejkovski, stated in a recent
press conference that ethnic Albanian guerrillas, supported by "new contingents
of sophisticated weapons" brought into Macedonia – presumably coming from Kosovo
– are planning a "spring offensive" against the Macedonian government, according
to a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
NATO, which is conducting a major peacekeeping operation in Macedonia, denies
that there is "any real evidence at the moment" of a threat of a major attack,
according to the Macedonian Information Agency, the official Macedonian press
agency.
A spokesman for NATO in Brussels, Mark Laity, urged the people of Macedonia
"to direct their attention towards the things that occur around them and not
speculate about what might happen."
"A small number of isolated people can create incidents without the support
from the people," Laity stated.
NATO's reassurances came despite "a significant number of reports in the
papers" concerning the possibility of a new round in war-torn Macedonia's civil
conflict, according to the Macedonian Information Agency.
Related story:
Moscow
charges 'genocide' in Kosovo
I.J. Toby Westerman, is a
contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily who focuses on current events in the
Commonwealth of Independent States and the Balkans.
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
