KOSOVO: PRIZREN: NATO TROOPS CONTINUE TO SECURE AREA (2)

(18 Jun 1999) German/Eng/Nat

German NATO troops in the Kosovo town of Prizren are starting to take control of local police stations recently held by K-L-A rebels.

They have also ordered the K-L-A there to stop brandishing their weapons in public after midnight on Friday in an attempt to show who is in charge during the transition phase.

Upon arriving at the scene of one police station on Friday, German soldiers found one elderly man dead and more than 15 injured civilians, mainly ethnic Albanians, who had been in the hands of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army since early this week.

About 25 K-L-A soldiers were taken away after being found in the building, where German troops found signs of torture instruments they fear may have been used on the victims.

K-FOR armoured vehicles patrol the streets of Prizren in Kosovo, providing a visible presence so residents know who's in control.

German forces commanding the area have said they will take control of the local police stations in the southwestern town, which have been controlled in recent days by Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas.

At a building recently used by Serb soldiers when they were still rampant in the area, German K-FOR soldiers mixed with K-L-A leaders to hammer out details of the handover.

German peacekeepers at the Albanian border did let ethnic Albanian rebels cross back into Kosovo with their weapons on Thursday.

But German forces have announced they are banning the K-L-A from carrying their weapons in public as of midnight on Friday, an opportunity for the guerrillas to demonstrate their compliance with the peace process.

German army General Rolf Betsch said any person not complying with the order would have their weapons seized.

SOUNDBITE: (German)
"Mr. Drini (involved in negotiations) and I have worked out an agreement that from midnight no weapons will be carried in the city of Prizren either by the K-L-A or any group. That means we now have a legal formula to take weapons away."
SUPER CAPTION: General Rolf Betsch, German K-FOR operation in Prizren

Serb forces in Kosovo are withdrawing from the province, as part of the peace agreement to end the conflict.

According to NATO, three quarters have now left and the remainder have until midnight on Sunday to get the rest of the 40-thousand out of Kosovo.

Now, NATO troops want to make sure they - not the K-L-A - are in place to fill the gap left by the Serb forces' departure.

One K-L-A official said he had no problem with the German's directives, saying he will rely on them to ensure that Prizren is once again safe.

SOUNDBITE: (Albanian)
(Referring to the midnight deadline) "We only have automatic weapons rather than heavy guns so we don't oppose this agreement. Now we know that K-FOR are here and they will restore order to this city with help of the military police."
SUPER CAPTION: Vox pop, KLA official

At one police station in Prizren, the German soldiers found a disturbing scene when they arrived to take control of the building.

The body of an elderly man who appeared to be about 70 years old was found, chained to a chair.

The man appeared to have died shortly before the NATO troops arrived on the scene.

German troops also found a stash of weapons, including grenades, machine guns, mortars and shells, as well as heavy wooden sticks and spikes with nails that appeared to be instruments of torture, likely used on the prisoners.

In addition to the one fatality, more than 15 injured people were found inside the building.



A German commander described the scene found by his men inside.




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