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Kosovo monitor mission gears up

By the terms of the deal brokered by the American envoy Richard Holbrooke on 12 October, up to 2,000 unarmed monitors are to be deployed in the province to determine whether both the Serbian security forces and ethnic Albanian separatists are complying with the accord.

There have been fears about their safety because they do not carry weapons.

An OSCE spokesman said there is also a need to co-ordinate the methods of verification, as the monitors come from up to 35 different countries.

"It is important that everyone does the training here so that everyone does the same kind of verifying," said Simon Gerry.

The monitors will undergo five days of classes on security, landmine awareness and the situation in the province.

The BBC Correspondent in Pristina says the OSCE is under intense pressure to get the observers out into the field as soon as possible.

More than 200 monitors from Russia, the United States, Canada and the European Union are already in the region, operating as part of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission.

They will eventually be trained and absorbed into OSCE operation.

Serb hostage freed

Following mediation by United States' observers, ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosovo have freed a Serbian policeman a week after they abducted him.

The policeman, Goran Zbiljic, was handed over by Kosovo Liberation Army fighters near Podujevo, northeast of the capital Pristina.

He told journalists he had not been mistreated, and all he wanted to do was go home, adding that the war in Kosovo was wrong and must stop.

Several hundred people have been killed and up to 300,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, displaced since Serbia launched a crackdown on Kosovo separatists in February.

Relevant Stories

Kosovo blueprint rejected (23 Nov 98 | Europe)
The OSCE's vital role (13 Oct 98 | Kosovo)
Agreement in Belgrade (13 Oct 98 | Europe)

Internet Links

Serbian Ministry of Information
Kosova Information Centre
Republic of Kosova - separatist state
Yugoslav Federal Republic

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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