KOSOVO: PANTINA: YUGOSLAV ARMY BOMBARD REBEL POSITIONS скачать в хорошем качестве

KOSOVO: PANTINA: YUGOSLAV ARMY BOMBARD REBEL POSITIONS

(27 Jun 1998) Natural Sound The Yugoslav army bombarded rebel positions and the town of Pantina in central Kosovo on Saturday as the buildup of government forces continued. Refugees have already began to flee the mixed Serb and ethnic Albanian town which has a population of around 1-thousand people. The fighting comes a day after U-S envoy Richard Holbrooke ended four days of shuttle diplomacy in the region during which he warned both Serb forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas against continued fighting. The town of Pantina came under fire from Yugoslav forces attempting to drive out ethnic Albanian rebels from the area. The rebels control at least half the town, but the predominantly Serb forces also have a military base there. They have taken up positions along this ridge from where the attacks have been launched. Explosions and the rattle of heavy machine-gun fire and small arms could be heard on two sides of Pantina from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. Ethnic Albanians, armed with shotguns and hunting rifles are the target for the crackdown. Pantina has a population of 1-thousand and is just 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Pristina, the provincial capital. While the fighting has only just started in the town, refugees have already started to desert their homes. It appears Kosovo's ethnic Albanians are becoming increasingly supportive of fighting the Serbs. Several top politicians founded a new movement intended to serve as the political wing of the once-isolated guerrillas. More than 3-hundred people have died in Kosovo since early March in stepped-up fighting that began after Serbian police cracked down on secessionist militants led by the shadowy Kosovo Liberation Army. Ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs in Kosovo 9-to-1, but the Serbs consider the province the cradle of their culture. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...