Yugoslav Army Says It Killed 30 Infiltrating Rebels

Serbian forces shelled villages Saturday along a gunrunning route used by ethnic Albanian guerrillas, and the Yugoslav army claimed it killed 30 rebels in an operation in Kosovo province that foiled a mass infiltration from Albania.

The rebels, meanwhile, launched a major offensive Saturday on a Serbian-held town. Ethnic Albanians, who constitute about 90% of Kosovo’s population, control an estimated 40% of the land and are seeking independence from Serbia, which is part of Yugoslavia.

In reporting the 30 dead, a Yugoslav army statement said 1,000 “terrorists” tried to cross from Albania into Kosovo, west of Decani. About 30 were “liquidated” and the incursion was foiled, it said.

The intense Serbian shelling began late Friday near the village of Padesh, the main route for 13,000 Kosovo refugees who crossed into Albania in June to escape Serbian attacks. The KLA is believed to use the route to smuggle in guns and ammunition from northern Albania.

Albania’s deputy interior minister, Ilir Cano, said two Serbian mortar rounds landed inside Albanian territory.

“These dangerous incidents [could] have very dangerous consequences,” Cano said, hinting at a possible military response to such violations of Albania’s territorial sovereignty.

He said Albania lodged a protest and demanded a meeting with Yugoslav authorities.

The crackdown on the Kosovo Liberation Army that began in February has triggered a backlash in the province not only against the government but also against Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, whose commitment to nonviolence has failed to end the bloodshed or win self-rule. That result has been converts to the KLA.

A mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was meeting with Rugova on Saturday in an attempt to find a negotiated end to the violence.