Commander Says Kosovo Rebels Will Honor Truce but Not Leave
The commander of ethnic Albanian guerrillas ranged against Serbian forces in northern Kosovo said Monday that he would observe a truce restored by international monitors, but he refused to move his troops.
“I want to make it clear that the accord was agreed with the observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe [OSCE], and not with the Serbs,” the commander, using the nom de guerre Remi, said at his headquarters, a two-story house in the village of Lapastica.
“However, we will stick to it,” he added.
On Sunday, OSCE verifiers talked with commanders of Serbian forces and the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, to persuade them to stop fighting in the area, where more than a dozen people had been killed in four days of clashes that began Thursday.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
