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Monday, January 11, 1999 Published at 10:01 GMT World: Europe Kosovo: Preparing for war ![]() The harsh Serbian winter has forced a ceasefire By Ben Brown, in Kosovo Nato's supreme commander in Europe has warned that the situation in Kosovo is spiralling out of control with Serbs and ethnic Albanians preparing for renewed war.
In 1998 Serbs and the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army fought for control of the southwestern province of Serbia. The population, largely of Albanian descent, want some degree of autonomy and in the ensuing conflict 2000 people died and 250,000 ethnic Albanians became refugees.
"We are more prepared professionally because our soldiers are more experienced and we now have weapons that can stop enemy Serb tanks and armoured vehicles." The KLA say they now have so many volunteers they are turning many away. The latest recruits know they may be thrown into battle within weeks.
"I would call them terrorists. The ones doing this - the attacks, the shootings - yes, they are terrorists." Desperately trying to keep the peace between the two sides are international monitors, or verifiers as they are called, many of whom are British. They patrol in armoured Land Rovers last used in Northern Ireland.
"We are very conscious of the risks here ... It is unusual to somebody from Britain, it is different. We are conscious of mine risks and other risks and even just the terrible roads here in these winter conditions." The outlook for this part of Europe is not good. For the time being the sub-zero temperatures of Kosovo's winter may have frozen the fighting more effectively than any ceasefire. But many predict that as soon as the snows melt away so will the peace. |
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