Posted on 11/12/2001 3:53:35 AM PST by oxi-nato
SKOPJE - Dozens of heavily armed Slav-Macedonian crack policemen, in armored personnel carriers, yesterday secured the location of a suspected burial site believed to contain the bodies of six Slav-Macedonians.
Police sealed off a wide area in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) near the northwestern city of Tetovo, banning civilian vehicles from using the road leading to the site believed to contain the bodies of the Slav-Macedonians allegedly abducted by ethnic Albanian militants earlier this year. A Slav-Macedonian police commander who refused to give his name said his group was charged with guarding the perimeter since some ethnic Albanian "terrorists" were allegedly operating in the area.
FYROM hardline Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski announced the exhumation would begin early next week. He did not disclose the exact location of the suspected grave. At least 12 Slav-Macedonian civilians are still missing and presumed dead, government officials say.
The government appointed a commission to investigate. It comprises Boskovski, the public prosecutor and representatives of the European Union, NATO and the UN war crimes tribunal.
International envoys to FYROM, including US representative James Pardew, asked Boskovski on Saturday for restraint and coordination with both local Albanians and the UN war crimes tribunal. The Slav-Macedonian army and police reported several shootings in the wider Tetovo area and in the Kumanovo region late Saturday and early yesterday.
There were no injuries, though a police checkpoint was under heavy machine-gun fire for about 15 minutes. Earlier Saturday, military spokesman Col. Blagoja Markovski said ethnic Albanian militants attacked Slav-Macedonian soldiers and wounded one of them just outside Tetovo. There was no independent confirmation.
Talks on FYROM constitutional amendments - part of a peace plan meant to give the ethnic Albanians greater rights - have repeatedly bogged down in parliamentary maneuvering. Parliament reconvened Saturday only to adjourn the session until today.
bush watch in effect, balkans is the true test if he will combat terrorism!
kla must be defeated!
care to comment on why you support terrorist activities like abducting innocent people, you support kla brutality!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.