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KFOR troops shoot Serb police officer
Mon, 14 Jun 1999
British officials say peacekeeping troops in Kosovo have shot dead a man believed to be an off-duty Serb police officer who opened fire at them in the provincial capital, Pristina.The incident was the first reported armed violence between the NATO-led peace force (KFOR) and Serbs since it began entering the southern province of Yugoslavia.
British officers, in a paratroop force fanning out through eastern Pristina to secure it while mechanised infantry were taking control of the west, said the assailant was warned several times to put down his gun but instead began shooting.
"This guy came up shouting, with a pistol in his hand, one officer told the Reuters news agency.
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The unidentified man was not in uniform but was believed to be an off-duty officer of the paramilitary Interior Ministry (MUP) police, paratroopers told Reuters at the scene in the courtyard of an apartment complex.
Serbs have greeted KFOR's arrival with sullen hostility for the most part, while ethnic Albanians who suffered under Serbian police repression have been celebrating.
It seems the shooting had an odd beginning.
British Captain Andrew Reeds says eight paratroopers were conversing and having their photographs taken with two MUP officers when the assailant appeared from the direction of a bar in the courtyard frequented by Serbs.
The man, possibly objecting to apparent fraternisation between the Serb police officers and British troops, was brandishing a semi-automatic pistol and the paratroopers warned him six times to stop and drop the weapon.
But he ignored them and fired from a distance of about 25 metres. Paratroopers returned fire and killed him.
MUP personnel must withdraw along with Yugoslav army forces by June 20 by agreement with NATO to clear the way for the return of around 1 million ethnic Albanian refugees.
More troops
Some 1,600 British troops have moved into the capital of Kosovo, Pristina, as ethnic Albanian rebels killed up to four Serb security men.
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Nick Clissitt told the AFP news agency: "We're coming into town. We're stabilising it."
He says 800 paratroopers with the 5th Airborne Brigade landed to the east of Kosovo by helicopter before moving through the capital while another 800 Irish guards were in the centre but heading west.
Lieutenant Colonel Clissitt added that the 1,600 troops were moving as scheduled under the deployment of an international NATO peacekeeping force that pushed into Kosovo on Saturday from Macedonia.
Entering Kosovo on Saturday were about 6,000 British troops and 1,500 French troops with the NATO-led Kosovo force (KFOR).
US, German and Italian troops were also due to enter the southern Serb province.
In a move that caught NATO off guard, around 300 Russian troops arrived first in Kosovo on Friday, setting up base at the Pristina airport and pre-empting British and French troops slated to lead NATO's deployment in Kosovo.
Lieutenant Colonel Clissitt said two Yugoslav soldiers and one Serb policeman were killed in clashes with rebels in areas of Pristina, but said the NATO force was not involved in defusing the incidents.
Referring to the same incidents, Serb sources said two policemen and two Yugoslav soldiers were killed by Kosovo Liberation Army fighters.
Asked if British troops were disarming Kosovo Liberation Army rebels, Lieutenant Colonel Clissitt replied: "We will not tolerate any armed group using its muscle.
"We will respond robustly."
NATO troops would ensure the terms of last week's agreement ending the NATO air war are enforced, he said.
On Saturday, British paratroopers who landed at a village south of Pristina were greeted by a group of KLA who refused to disarm and headed to the mountains.
More news and video and audio archives can be found on the Kosovo page.
© 1999 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Updated: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 at 7:24 AM (AEST)
AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of UTC (Greenwich Mean Time)