US Troops Rescue Russians From Kosovo Albanians

By Mark Heinrich

PRISTINA (Reuters) - U.S. troops Wednesday had to come to the aid of Russian peacekeepers confronted in southeast Kosovo by hundreds of ethnic Albanians armed with rocks and sticks, the KFOR peace force said.

Ethnic Albanian protesters also confronted U.S. soldiers in the main southeast town of Gnjilane over a mass arrest of illegally armed Kosovo Albanians Tuesday, the U.S. military said.

Capt. Stefan Eder of KFOR said it was not clear whether the ethnic Albanians physically attacked the Russians in the village of Dobrcane, seven miles east of Gnjilane.

``We do know a demonstration began in Dobrcane around 12:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. EDT) by about 500 ethnic Albanians who were carrying rocks and sticks and were protesting the Russian presence in the area,'' he said.

``The Russians had to be assisted by American troops and warning shots were fired. There were no casualties among soldiers or civilians and the crowd dispersed around 2 p.m. (8 a.m. EDT).''

Russian troops have been the target of numerous Kosovo Albanian protests, and their checkpoints have been shot at a number of times since they arrived a few weeks ago.

Ethnic Albanians despise Russians for their support of Yugoslav Serb authorities who revoked the autonomy of Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians and then tried to expel them in a crackdown on separatist guerrillas.

NATO agreed to have a Russian component in KFOR mainly to reassure minority Serbs who have faced violent retribution from ethnic Albanians since Belgrade's security forces withdrew and peacekeepers arrived two months ago.

U.S. Brig. Gen. John Craddock, commander of KFOR's southeast zone, confirmed at a news conference in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, that there was a confrontation between ethnic Albanians and U.S. troops earlier in the day.

``Yes, I'm informed about it. I'm ... concerned about escalation or confrontations. Our soldiers are here to cooperate with everyone, not work in a confrontational manner.'' He had no details on what happened.

He said the Russians operating in the U.S.-controlled eastern sector, where two incidents involving American troops occurred, performed evenhandedly and were doing ``an outstanding job.''

In the southeastern Kosovo town of Gnjilane, U.S. troops scuffled with ethnic Albanians demanding the release of 10 men arrested Tuesday. The men, who were wearing uniforms of the Kosovo Liberation Army, were seized in a raid on a house that uncovered illegal weapons.

Wearing a KLA uniform and carrying a weapon is illegal without a special identity card available only to top KLA commanders.

Also Wednesday, U.S. troops arrested nine men for attacking a Russian tank that drove past a demonstration in the village of Dobrcane, a few miles east of Gnjilane, the U.S. headquarters in Kosovo.

The protesters claimed Russian soldiers took down an Albanian flag from a house in the village. The U.S. troops were monitoring the demonstration when the Russian tank rolled by and some of the crowd of several hundred tried to climb on it, said U.S. 2nd Lt. Matt Farmer.

``It got out of control a little bit,'' Farmer said. ``Obviously, this is because the people here don't like Russians.''

According to statistics provided by the UNHCR, fewer than 2,000 Serbs remain in Pristina, compared to a prewar population of at least 27,000.

The Gnjilane protest was the first known display of ethnic Albanian hostility toward U.S. peacekeepers. Ethnic Albanians generally revere Americans for spearheading NATO's air war that brought an end to repressive Serbian police rule in Kosovo.

Pfc. William Patterson, a U.S. army spokesman, said the ethnic Albanians were upset over the shutdown of an illegal Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) center Tuesday.

He said about up to 200 ethnic Albanians were rallying near U.S. troops, but he denied reports of violence. ``The Albanians have made no aggressive moves toward the troops,'' he said.

U.S. troops Tuesday seized small-caliber weapons, clubs and surplus military uniforms in a Gnjilane schoolhouse and arrested 60 ethnic Albanians found there, some in KLA uniform.

Fifty were freed later in the day, while the others were being held at a U.S. Army base near Urosevac.

Craddock said ethnic Albanians in Gnjilane were also stirred up by the murder of an Albanian man who was shot execution-style two nights before in the village of Koretin.

Local ethnic Albanians said he was killed by a Russian soldier. Craddock said there was no evidence Russians were involved but an inquiry was under way.

``I think the information on the type of murder it was has spread and has inflamed and concerned many of the Albanians in Gnjilane, where many know the victim's family.''

Craddock rejected persistent ethnic Albanian complaints that Russian peacekeepers were biased toward Serbs.

``There appears to be a significant disinformation campaign against the Russian unit. There is a preconceived Albanian notion that the Russians will favor the Serbs,'' he said.

``We have not seen it. They have shown restraint and control (in confrontations with ethnic Albanians). They have been executing their duties in a ... professional way.''

NATO officials reported one Serb woman was shot to death and her son was injured in Kosovska Kamenica in the U.S. sector southeast Pristina. There were conflicting reports about their ages.

Violence persisted Wednesday in the divided mining center of Kosovska Mitrovica, 20 miles northwest of Pristina.

Three ethnic Albanians were beaten late Tuesday in the Serb-controlled part of the town, after Serbs forced their way into Albanian apartments and told the inhabitants to leave, said Capt. Bertrand Bonneau of the French troops patrolling the city.

French troops also stopped a crowd of ethnic Albanians from crossing the central bridge into the city's Serb-dominated sector after four explosions sounded in the city Tuesday night.

It was the fourth straight day that ethnic Albanians tried to storm the Serb sector.

A young boy and girl were severely cut after being caught under barbed wire inadvertently dragged by a NATO vehicle on the bridge.