May 25, 2006

KiM Info Newsletter 25-05-06

Situation in Kosovo still far from normal

KIM Info-service
May 25, 2006

The following is a compilation of the 31 incidents and crimes that occurred in Kosovo and Metohija only between May 1 to May 11, 2006. This report was compiled with information from UNMIK police, the UNMIK civil administration, military liaison personnel and KFOR. So many incidents of this kind show that the security situation in Kosovo Province is still far from normal and that the non-Albanian population has many reasons to feel unsafe in the present circumstances despite all attempts of some international and Kosovo officials to say that the situation is rapidly improving.

INCIDENTS IN KOSOVO MAY 1-11, 2006

On May 1 two Kosovo Albanians were arrested in Pristina for threatening and assaulting a Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Albanian man for unknown reasons. On the same day a Kosovo Serb man reported that two unknown juveniles threw stones at him in Prizren at about 8:50 p.m. In the early morning on the same day a Kosovo Serb man fired three shots from his legally owned hunting gun at two unknown persons who broke into his cattle shed located in the village of Osojane and stole a cow. The thieves allegedly shot him twice before escaping. Finally, on May 1 an unknown person or persons stole two electrical boilers from a Kosovo Roma house located in the ethnically mixed part of Vucitrn. In another location a Kosovo Serb man reported that an unknown person or persons broke a window on his shop in the village of Priluzje.

On May 2 a Kosovo Serb woman reported that an unknown person or persons stole construction materials from her house, which is under reconstruction, in the ethnically mixed village of Podgorce. A Croatian priest of the Catholic Church reported that an unknown person or persons broke into the church and stole 14 icons in the ethnically mixed village of Letnica. Kosovo Serb monks and workers in Decani reported to a KFOR patrol that they were allegedly insulted by Kosovo Albanian passers-by. The incidents occurred after lifting restrictions on movement near Visoki Decani Monastery during the day. Finally, on this day a Kosovo Ashkali man reported that an unknown person or persons burglarized and stole several items from his garage, located in the ethnically mixed part of Mitrovica.

On May 3 an unknown person or persons broke into the stable of a Kosovo Serb man living in the village of Paralovo near Gnjilane and stole two cows. On the same day a Kosovo Serb woman reported that an unknown person or persons broke into her unoccupied house and damaged several items without stealing anything. Also on May 3 a Kosovo Serb man reported that an unknown person or persons stole two cows from his stable in the ethnically mixed village of Suvi Do.

On May 4 a police patrol reported that an unknown person or persons broke into an Orthodox church in Podujevo and damaged two windows. Nothing was reported stolen. An unknown person or persons damaged the fence and stole a monument from the Orthodox cemetery located in the ethnically mixed village of Ajvalija. On the same day an unknown person stabbed a Croatian man, a member of a musical group from Croatia, who sustained minor injury. Finally, n two separate locations, two Kosovo Serb men reported that two unknown Kosovo Albanian families occupied their apartments in Prizren located in the predominantly Kosovo Albanian part of town.

On May 5 a Kosovo Serb water supply company employee reported that an unknown person threw an unidentified explosive device at the company premises in the ethnically mixed area of Suvi Do. On May 6 a Kosovo Serb priest reported that while he was traveling with his family, two unknown persons fired three shots at his car with unknown weapons and fled the scene. A bullet penetrated the vehicle but no injury was reported. Two spent cartridges were found on the scene.

On May 8 in the ethnically mixed village of Mogila an unknown person or persons threw stones at two passing vehicles driven by Kosovo Serb men, one of them a member of the Kosovo Protection Corps. On May 9 another Kosovo Serb man reported that his car was stoned in the same area. Also on May 8 a Kosovo Bosnian [sic] woman reported that a known Kosovo Albanian man insulted and assaulted her for unknown reasons. A Kosovo Albanian family illegally re-occupied an apartment belonging to a Kosovo Serb man.

On May 9 a Bosnian male from central Serbia reported that two unknown juveniles threw stones at his truck as he was driving through a Kosovo Albanian area near Srbica and broke his windshield. On the same day several juveniles believed to be Kosovo Albanian schoolchildren threw stones at a bus with Kosovo Serb passengers in the Kosovo Albanian village of Rudnik, breaking several of the windows. A Kosovo Roma man reported that an unknown person or persons stole two lambs from his house yard in the ethnically mixed village of Vidanje. A Kosovo Serb woman reported that an unknown person or persons stole an electric water pump from her well in the ethnically mixed village of Strezovce.

On May 10 two masked men armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol, one of them wearing a camouflage uniform, introduced themselves as members of the banned Albanian National army to two Kosovo Albanian security guards and entered a local warehouse. The perpetrators located a truck with Serbian license plates parked inside the premises and demanded money from the Bosnian driver. After the victim refused to open the door, one of the perpetrators fired a single rifle shot at the truck cabin and then both fled the scene. The victim sustained a slight leg injury.

On the same day a Kosovo Serb man reported that an unknown person or persons had vandalized a vehicle belonging to the Kosovo Missing Persons Association parked in the street. A Kosovo Bosnian [sic] man reported in Pristina he was threatened by a Kosovo Albanian man over a property dispute. An unknown person threw a hand grenade through a window of a Kosovo Serb returnee house that was momentarily uninhabited in the ethnically mixed village of Smac. Significant damage to the interior of the house resulted.

In the Pec area Kosovo Roma children found a hand grenade nearby their house. In another location in the Decani area an unidentified explosive device was found. Finally, on May 10 a Kosovo Serb man reported that an unknown person or persons had forced his way into his unoccupied house and installed a new lock.

On May 11 at 3:30 a.m. in Grabovac near Zvecan two Kosovo Serb men suffered injuries by firearm during an armed robberyat the fuel station Gradina. Further information from police says that two masked persons armed with automatic rifles came in a vehicle from the north and fired several shots at the two young Kosovo Serb security guards, robbing them of 200 euros.