-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! NATO and Macedonia Act to Flush Out Rebels Carlotta Gall New York Times Service Friday, March 9, 2001 SKOPJE, Macedonia U.S.-led peacekeepers in southern Kosovo occupied a village on the border with Macedonia on Thursday as part of a coordinated move with Macedonian military forces through the night and morning to flush out ethnic Albanian rebels from their mountain base. . The operation by some 300 international peacekeepers, most of them Americans, to occupy Tanusevci was the first offensive action by peacekeepers since they entered Kosovo in June 1999. It followed a move on Tuesday to secure the village of Mijak, just short of the border, where peacekeepers traded fire with a group of rebels, wounding several. . The operation is a sign of NATO's determination to help Macedonia quell an incipient ethnic Albanian insurgency before it grows. Three Macedonians and at least two Albanians have been killed in the skirmishes around Tanusevci in the last two weeks. The violence has alarmed not only the Macedonian government, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Western governments, who fear it could flare into a larger conflict, as it has on Kosovo's eastern boundary with Serbia. . Armed Albanians, thought to be local men from Macedonia who fought with their fellow Albanians against Serbian forces in Kosovo, appeared for the first time in the village of Tanusevci two weeks ago. Some of them wore uniforms and called themselves members of the National Liberation Army. Soon after they engaged the Macedonian military in firefights. . NATO's first concern has been to seal the border and prevent the movement of men and weapons. But the action Thursday was more aggressive. A U.S. military spokesman said the peacekeepers' aim was to eliminate any safe havens that could be used by armed groups in southern Kosovo. Tanusevci, which they found empty and abandoned, would now appear off bounds for any armed Albanians. . But the rebels seem to have just moved on to other villages, even if they have been pinched by the joint action closing in on them from the north and south. Some are reported to be present in the nearby village of Malino, according to local journalists. "They move all the time. They like to move," said Snezana Lupevska, a reporter from AI television in Skopje, who has followed the story. . It is not clear what prompted the Albanians to abandon Tanusevci, but U.S. troops who took part in the operation said they had watched them leave in a group through their night-sights. . Macedonian military officials said a group of 50 to 60 armed men headed east for a military post called Kudra Fura, just over a kilometer from Tanusevci during the night. Just after midnight, the gunmen launched an attack on the military post, shooting for two hours and then moving round and continuing the attack from the east, a Macedonian Army spokesman, Gorgi Trendafilov, said at a news conference in Skopje. . He said that the Albanians had opened fire first and the military had responded. American officers who had tracked the shooting said that they thought the Albanians had run into an ambush. . In a well-coordinated effort, U.S. officers maintained constant communication throughout the night with Macedonian military forces, even while the Macedonians were engaged in the firefight with the Albanians, and then in the morning as U.S. troops moved in to take control of the village. . "We have been receiving logistical support" from the peacekeeping forces "and they helped all night." Mr. Trendafilov said. "We were in contact all the time." . Neither the peacekeepers nor the Macedonians suffered any casualties. It is not known if rebels suffered any. . The operation marks a new step for NATO in the region since it intervened in Kosovo in 1999 against Yugoslav forces. American troops have been often criticized for doing nothing to stop Albanian rebels groups establishing themselves just beyond Kosovo's eastern border in the last year. . NATO said Thursday that it had decided to allow Yugoslav military and police forces back in to the five-kilometer (three-mile) wide exclusion zone that runs along the boundary with Serbia. Excluded from the area since the end of NATO's war with Yugoslavia in 1999, the Yugoslav Army has complained that it has not been allowed to contain the increasingly violent insurgency in southern Serbia. . Yugoslavia's president, Vojislav Kostunica, repeated those complaints Thursday at a news conference in Belgrade, and said that NATO's decision was yet another proof that the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo had failed. . "The latest offer to squeeze our forces in a narrow, five-kilometer zone means" that the NATO-led peacekeeping force "is abandoning the protection of the borders with Macedonia, and is placing our forces between the two fires," Mr. Kostunica said. . "The Yugoslav forces will, of course, do it to correct mistakes," Mr. Kostunica said. "Simply said," he added, "the results of NATO policies in Kosovo are catastrophic." . But in recognition of the difficulty the peacekeepers face, he said that it would be dangerous for the Yugoslav Army to return to the zone. . Albanian leaders in Kosovo and Macedonia criticized the decision, saying it would escalate tension in the region, since the Yugoslav Army and the police were hated and feared by Albanians for their repressive actions in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999. . "It would be a folly," said Arben Xhaferi, who heads the largest Albanian political party in Macedonia. . Violence Is Played Down . The U.S. defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and NATO's top diplomat sought to play down the significance Thursday of renewed violence along the Kosovo-Macedonia border, The Associated Press reported from Washington. . At a joint news conference in the Pentagon, Mr. Rumsfeld said the situation there was "relatively stable," although he described the Balkans as "a difficult part of the world" to keep the peace. . Mr. Rumsfeld was asked whether American forces in Kosovo were running the risk of being drawn into a shooting war along the Macedonian border. "That's one of the risks of a peacekeeper," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "Shooting is shooting, and it has been going on throughout the period" that the peacekeeping have been there. . George Robertson, the NATO secretary-general, said that while the upsurge in violence was cause for concern, he believes an increase in peacekeeping patrols along the border area with Macedonia is having the desired effect of reducing violence. For Related Topics See: Europe Front Page < < Back to Start of Article SKOPJE, Macedonia U.S.-led peacekeepers in southern Kosovo occupied a village on the border with Macedonia on Thursday as part of a coordinated move with Macedonian military forces through the night and morning to flush out ethnic Albanian rebels from their mountain base. . The operation by some 300 international peacekeepers, most of them Americans, to occupy Tanusevci was the first offensive action by peacekeepers since they entered Kosovo in June 1999. It followed a move on Tuesday to secure the village of Mijak, just short of the border, where peacekeepers traded fire with a group of rebels, wounding several. . The operation is a sign of NATO's determination to help Macedonia quell an incipient ethnic Albanian insurgency before it grows. Three Macedonians and at least two Albanians have been killed in the skirmishes around Tanusevci in the last two weeks. The violence has alarmed not only the Macedonian government, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Western governments, who fear it could flare into a larger conflict, as it has on Kosovo's eastern boundary with Serbia. . Armed Albanians, thought to be local men from Macedonia who fought with their fellow Albanians against Serbian forces in Kosovo, appeared for the first time in the village of Tanusevci two weeks ago. Some of them wore uniforms and called themselves members of the National Liberation Army. Soon after they engaged the Macedonian military in firefights. . NATO's first concern has been to seal the border and prevent the movement of men and weapons. But the action Thursday was more aggressive. A U.S. military spokesman said the peacekeepers' aim was to eliminate any safe havens that could be used by armed groups in southern Kosovo. Tanusevci, which they found empty and abandoned, would now appear off bounds for any armed Albanians. . But the rebels seem to have just moved on to other villages, even if they have been pinched by the joint action closing in on them from the north and south. Some are reported to be present in the nearby village of Malino, according to local journalists. "They move all the time. They like to move," said Snezana Lupevska, a reporter from AI television in Skopje, who has followed the story. . It is not clear what prompted the Albanians to abandon Tanusevci, but U.S. troops who took part in the operation said they had watched them leave in a group through their night-sights. . Macedonian military officials said a group of 50 to 60 armed men headed east for a military post called Kudra Fura, just over a kilometer from Tanusevci during the night. Just after midnight, the gunmen launched an attack on the military post, shooting for two hours and then moving round and continuing the attack from the east, a Macedonian Army spokesman, Gorgi Trendafilov, said at a news conference in Skopje. . He said that the Albanians had opened fire first and the military had responded. American officers who had tracked the shooting said that they thought the Albanians had run into an ambush. . In a well-coordinated effort, U.S. officers maintained constant communication throughout the night with Macedonian military forces, even while the Macedonians were engaged in the firefight with the Albanians, and then in the morning as U.S. troops moved in to take control of the village. . "We have been receiving logistical support" from the peacekeeping forces "and they helped all night." Mr. Trendafilov said. "We were in contact all the time." . Neither the peacekeepers nor the Macedonians suffered any casualties. It is not known if rebels suffered any. . The operation marks a new step for NATO in the region since it intervened in Kosovo in 1999 against Yugoslav forces. American troops have been often criticized for doing nothing to stop Albanian rebels groups establishing themselves just beyond Kosovo's eastern border in the last year. . NATO said Thursday that it had decided to allow Yugoslav military and police forces back in to the five-kilometer (three-mile) wide exclusion zone that runs along the boundary with Serbia. Excluded from the area since the end of NATO's war with Yugoslavia in 1999, the Yugoslav Army has complained that it has not been allowed to contain the increasingly violent insurgency in southern Serbia. . Yugoslavia's president, Vojislav Kostunica, repeated those complaints Thursday at a news conference in Belgrade, and said that NATO's decision was yet another proof that the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo had failed. . "The latest offer to squeeze our forces in a narrow, five-kilometer zone means" that the NATO-led peacekeeping force "is abandoning the protection of the borders with Macedonia, and is placing our forces between the two fires," Mr. Kostunica said. . "The Yugoslav forces will, of course, do it to correct mistakes," Mr. Kostunica said. "Simply said," he added, "the results of NATO policies in Kosovo are catastrophic." . But in recognition of the difficulty the peacekeepers face, he said that it would be dangerous for the Yugoslav Army to return to the zone. . Albanian leaders in Kosovo and Macedonia criticized the decision, saying it would escalate tension in the region, since the Yugoslav Army and the police were hated and feared by Albanians for their repressive actions in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999. . "It would be a folly," said Arben Xhaferi, who heads the largest Albanian political party in Macedonia. . Violence Is Played Down . The U.S. defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and NATO's top diplomat sought to play down the significance Thursday of renewed violence along the Kosovo-Macedonia border, The Associated Press reported from Washington. . At a joint news conference in the Pentagon, Mr. Rumsfeld said the situation there was "relatively stable," although he described the Balkans as "a difficult part of the world" to keep the peace. . Mr. Rumsfeld was asked whether American forces in Kosovo were running the risk of being drawn into a shooting war along the Macedonian border. "That's one of the risks of a peacekeeper," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "Shooting is shooting, and it has been going on throughout the period" that the peacekeeping have been there. . George Robertson, the NATO secretary-general, said that while the upsurge in violence was cause for concern, he believes an increase in peacekeeping patrols along the border area with Macedonia is having the desired effect of reducing violence. SKOPJE, Macedonia U.S.-led peacekeepers in southern Kosovo occupied a village on the border with Macedonia on Thursday as part of a coordinated move with Macedonian military forces through the night and morning to flush out ethnic Albanian rebels from their mountain base. . The operation by some 300 international peacekeepers, most of them Americans, to occupy Tanusevci was the first offensive action by peacekeepers since they entered Kosovo in June 1999. It followed a move on Tuesday to secure the village of Mijak, just short of the border, where peacekeepers traded fire with a group of rebels, wounding several. . The operation is a sign of NATO's determination to help Macedonia quell an incipient ethnic Albanian insurgency before it grows. Three Macedonians and at least two Albanians have been killed in the skirmishes around Tanusevci in the last two weeks. The violence has alarmed not only the Macedonian government, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Western governments, who fear it could flare into a larger conflict, as it has on Kosovo's eastern boundary with Serbia. . Armed Albanians, thought to be local men from Macedonia who fought with their fellow Albanians against Serbian forces in Kosovo, appeared for the first time in the village of Tanusevci two weeks ago. Some of them wore uniforms and called themselves members of the National Liberation Army. Soon after they engaged the Macedonian military in firefights. . NATO's first concern has been to seal the border and prevent the movement of men and weapons. But the action Thursday was more aggressive. A U.S. military spokesman said the peacekeepers' aim was to eliminate any safe havens that could be used by armed groups in southern Kosovo. Tanusevci, which they found empty and abandoned, would now appear off bounds for any armed Albanians. . But the rebels seem to have just moved on to other villages, even if they have been pinched by the joint action closing in on them from the north and south. Some are reported to be present in the nearby village of Malino, according to local journalists. "They move all the time. They like to move," said Snezana Lupevska, a reporter from AI television in Skopje, who has followed the story. . It is not clear what prompted the Albanians to abandon Tanusevci, but U.S. troops who took part in the operation said they had watched them leave in a group through their night-sights. . Macedonian military officials said a group of 50 to 60 armed men headed east for a military post called Kudra Fura, just over a kilometer from Tanusevci during the night. Just after midnight, the gunmen launched an attack on the military post, shooting for two hours and then moving round and continuing the attack from the east, a Macedonian Army spokesman, Gorgi Trendafilov, said at a news conference in Skopje. . He said that the Albanians had opened fire first and the military had responded. American officers who had tracked the shooting said that they thought the Albanians had run into an ambush. . In a well-coordinated effort, U.S. officers maintained constant communication throughout the night with Macedonian military forces, even while the Macedonians were engaged in the firefight with the Albanians, and then in the morning as U.S. troops moved in to take control of the village. . "We have been receiving logistical support" from the peacekeeping forces "and they helped all night." Mr. Trendafilov said. "We were in contact all the time." . Neither the peacekeepers nor the Macedonians suffered any casualties. It is not known if rebels suffered any. . The operation marks a new step for NATO in the region since it intervened in Kosovo in 1999 against Yugoslav forces. American troops have been often criticized for doing nothing to stop Albanian rebels groups establishing themselves just beyond Kosovo's eastern border in the last year. . NATO said Thursday that it had decided to allow Yugoslav military and police forces back in to the five-kilometer (three-mile) wide exclusion zone that runs along the boundary with Serbia. Excluded from the area since the end of NATO's war with Yugoslavia in 1999, the Yugoslav Army has complained that it has not been allowed to contain the increasingly violent insurgency in southern Serbia. . Yugoslavia's president, Vojislav Kostunica, repeated those complaints Thursday at a news conference in Belgrade, and said that NATO's decision was yet another proof that the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo had failed. . "The latest offer to squeeze our forces in a narrow, five-kilometer zone means" that the NATO-led peacekeeping force "is abandoning the protection of the borders with Macedonia, and is placing our forces between the two fires," Mr. Kostunica said. . "The Yugoslav forces will, of course, do it to correct mistakes," Mr. Kostunica said. "Simply said," he added, "the results of NATO policies in Kosovo are catastrophic." . But in recognition of the difficulty the peacekeepers face, he said that it would be dangerous for the Yugoslav Army to return to the zone. . Albanian leaders in Kosovo and Macedonia criticized the decision, saying it would escalate tension in the region, since the Yugoslav Army and the police were hated and feared by Albanians for their repressive actions in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999. . "It would be a folly," said Arben Xhaferi, who heads the largest Albanian political party in Macedonia. . Violence Is Played Down . The U.S. defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and NATO's top diplomat sought to play down the significance Thursday of renewed violence along the Kosovo-Macedonia border, The Associated Press reported from Washington. . At a joint news conference in the Pentagon, Mr. Rumsfeld said the situation there was "relatively stable," although he described the Balkans as "a difficult part of the world" to keep the peace. . Mr. Rumsfeld was asked whether American forces in Kosovo were running the risk of being drawn into a shooting war along the Macedonian border. "That's one of the risks of a peacekeeper," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "Shooting is shooting, and it has been going on throughout the period" that the peacekeeping have been there. . George Robertson, the NATO secretary-general, said that while the upsurge in violence was cause for concern, he believes an increase in peacekeeping patrols along the border area with Macedonia is having the desired effect of reducing violence. SKOPJE, Macedonia U.S.-led peacekeepers in southern Kosovo occupied a village on the border with Macedonia on Thursday as part of a coordinated move with Macedonian military forces through the night and morning to flush out ethnic Albanian rebels from their mountain base. . The operation by some 300 international peacekeepers, most of them Americans, to occupy Tanusevci was the first offensive action by peacekeepers since they entered Kosovo in June 1999. It followed a move on Tuesday to secure the village of Mijak, just short of the border, where peacekeepers traded fire with a group of rebels, wounding several. . The operation is a sign of NATO's determination to help Macedonia quell an incipient ethnic Albanian insurgency before it grows. Three Macedonians and at least two Albanians have been killed in the skirmishes around Tanusevci in the last two weeks. The violence has alarmed not only the Macedonian government, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Western governments, who fear it could flare into a larger conflict, as it has on Kosovo's eastern boundary with Serbia. . Armed Albanians, thought to be local men from Macedonia who fought with their fellow Albanians against Serbian forces in Kosovo, appeared for the first time in the village of Tanusevci two weeks ago. Some of them wore uniforms and called themselves members of the National Liberation Army. Soon after they engaged the Macedonian military in firefights. . NATO's first concern has been to seal the border and prevent the movement of men and weapons. But the action Thursday was more aggressive. A U.S. military spokesman said the peacekeepers' aim was to eliminate any safe havens that could be used by armed groups in southern Kosovo. Tanusevci, which they found empty and abandoned, would now appear off bounds for any armed Albanians. . But the rebels seem to have just moved on to other villages, even if they have been pinched by the joint action closing in on them from the north and south. Some are reported to be present in the nearby village of Malino, according to local journalists. "They move all the time. They like to move," said Snezana Lupevska, a reporter from AI television in Skopje, who has followed the story. . It is not clear what prompted the Albanians to abandon Tanusevci, but U.S. troops who took part in the operation said they had watched them leave in a group through their night-sights. . Macedonian military officials said a group of 50 to 60 armed men headed east for a military post called Kudra Fura, just over a kilometer from Tanusevci during the night. Just after midnight, the gunmen launched an attack on the military post, shooting for two hours and then moving round and continuing the attack from the east, a Macedonian Army spokesman, Gorgi Trendafilov, said at a news conference in Skopje. . He said that the Albanians had opened fire first and the military had responded. American officers who had tracked the shooting said that they thought the Albanians had run into an ambush. . In a well-coordinated effort, U.S. officers maintained constant communication throughout the night with Macedonian military forces, even while the Macedonians were engaged in the firefight with the Albanians, and then in the morning as U.S. troops moved in to take control of the village. . "We have been receiving logistical support" from the peacekeeping forces "and they helped all night." Mr. Trendafilov said. "We were in contact all the time." . Neither the peacekeepers nor the Macedonians suffered any casualties. It is not known if rebels suffered any. . The operation marks a new step for NATO in the region since it intervened in Kosovo in 1999 against Yugoslav forces. American troops have been often criticized for doing nothing to stop Albanian rebels groups establishing themselves just beyond Kosovo's eastern border in the last year. . NATO said Thursday that it had decided to allow Yugoslav military and police forces back in to the five-kilometer (three-mile) wide exclusion zone that runs along the boundary with Serbia. Excluded from the area since the end of NATO's war with Yugoslavia in 1999, the Yugoslav Army has complained that it has not been allowed to contain the increasingly violent insurgency in southern Serbia. . Yugoslavia's president, Vojislav Kostunica, repeated those complaints Thursday at a news conference in Belgrade, and said that NATO's decision was yet another proof that the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo had failed. . "The latest offer to squeeze our forces in a narrow, five-kilometer zone means" that the NATO-led peacekeeping force "is abandoning the protection of the borders with Macedonia, and is placing our forces between the two fires," Mr. Kostunica said. . "The Yugoslav forces will, of course, do it to correct mistakes," Mr. Kostunica said. "Simply said," he added, "the results of NATO policies in Kosovo are catastrophic." . But in recognition of the difficulty the peacekeepers face, he said that it would be dangerous for the Yugoslav Army to return to the zone. . Albanian leaders in Kosovo and Macedonia criticized the decision, saying it would escalate tension in the region, since the Yugoslav Army and the police were hated and feared by Albanians for their repressive actions in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999. . "It would be a folly," said Arben Xhaferi, who heads the largest Albanian political party in Macedonia. . Violence Is Played Down . The U.S. defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and NATO's top diplomat sought to play down the significance Thursday of renewed violence along the Kosovo-Macedonia border, The Associated Press reported from Washington. . At a joint news conference in the Pentagon, Mr. Rumsfeld said the situation there was "relatively stable," although he described the Balkans as "a difficult part of the world" to keep the peace. . Mr. Rumsfeld was asked whether American forces in Kosovo were running the risk of being drawn into a shooting war along the Macedonian border. "That's one of the risks of a peacekeeper," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "Shooting is shooting, and it has been going on throughout the period" that the peacekeeping have been there. . George Robertson, the NATO secretary-general, said that while the upsurge in violence was cause for concern, he believes an increase in peacekeeping patrols along the border area with Macedonia is having the desired effect of reducing violence. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
