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Utrinski Vesnik

by Sasko DIMEVSKI
Utrinski Vesnik, Skopje, Macedonia, March 19, 2001

Defense Ministry Security forces found in underground storage rooms in Tanusevci dry food supplied by UNHCR and KFOR, stated Gjorgji Trendafilov, the Defense Ministry spokesperson. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVR) announced for yesterday afternoon and last night a serious offensive and displacement and crushing of terrorist groups above Tetovo, which during the weekend extended the front line to the villages of Drenovac and Gjermo. The MVR forces yesterday captured a large amount of weapons between the villages of Vistica and Nikustane, near Kumanovo. Three persons were arrested in that action. Government's spokesperson, Antonio Milososki, yesterday expressed satisfaction due to achieved consensus between political parties with representation in the Parliament regarding the conclusions from the debate on the current security situation in the state.

The official spokespersons characterized the situation in the state, and especially in Tetovo, as still complicated and worrisome. During the weekend firefights with terrorists in Tetovo were intense. From time to time there were sporadic shots and bursts of fire from automatic guns, as well as fire from large caliber artillery weapons. Besides shots fired on the Police checkpoint in the village of Alesevci near Kumanovo, no other incidents and provocations were recorded anywhere else in the state.
Anti-terrorist and anti-commando units of the Macedonian Army, during the removal of landmines in the village of Tanusevci and especially in the shelters and bunkers used by terrorists, found large amounts of dry food with UNHCR markings and from the KFOR reserves.

"Some international organizations in Kosovo are not doing their job properly and the international factor needs to know about their unacceptable attitude," emphasized spokesperson Trendafilov in the so far sharpest criticism of the international institutions and their involvement in the crisis in Macedonia. Yesterday in several spots along the border on the Kosovo side our forces spotted movement of extremists. Near Donje Blace, on the Kosovo side, Army patrols spotted a crowd of two-three thousand observed by the OSCE vehicles?! Allegedly, that was a funeral at which Albanian flags were displayed and afterwards shots from automatic weapons could be heard. By the closure of this issue of Utrinski, there were no recorded attempts to cross the border to Macedonia.

Yesterday, State Security and Counterintelligence Service (DBK) agents on the road between the villages of Vistica and Nikustane, near the village of Lojane, discovered a jeep full of weapons and arrested three persons. Two of suspects were from Aracinovo and one from Mojance. The discovered arsenal, according to the first assumptions of the MVR, was supposed to be used for incidents in the suburbs of Skopje [Aracinovo is an Albanian majority settlement on the outskirts of Skopje]. The DBK action confiscated a 75 millimeter cannon, four shoulder-launcher rockets, grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, sniper rifles, bombs, medical supplies, binoculars...

On Saturday the MVR registered departure of women and children from the villages of Urvic and Jelovjane, near Tetovo, who left the country over the border crossings Kjafasan and Tabanovce. Their departure was ordered by the terrorists. Pendarovski stated that yesterday at the Skopje airport it was noticed that Albanians were leaving en masse to Dusseldorf [in Germany] and Zurich [in Switzerland]. In the fighting near Tetovo, the MIA captured several members of terrorist groups.

Regarding information that in several towns and cities all over the state volunteer lists were compiled, spokesperson Milososki appealed to the citizens to contact the regional units of the Defense Ministry, where they would be told whether volunteers are needed, having in mind that the security forces are so far capable of dealing with the terrorists.

Utrinski unofficially found out that four Russian helicopters MI-8 arrived yesterday to Macedonia as a present from a friendly country, while it has been announced that several more battle helicopters will be donated by a NATO-member country.