Former rebel commander killed, police say

Yahoo! News ^ | July 31, 2002 | By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES

[joan]

SKOPJE, Macedonia - Attackers killed a former ethnic Albanian rebel commander in a drive-by shooting in Macedonia on Wednesday, police said.

Jusuf Ilazi, also known as Qufa, was shot in the tense northwestern city of Tetovo, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital, Skopje. Illazi commanded ethnic Albanian insurgents in the region and was known as a staunch ally of rebel leader Ali Ahmeti.

Sedat Suleimani, an ethnic Albanian from the village of Poroj, which is just outside of Tetovo, was arrested in connection with the attack, Macedonian police said in a statement.

A ranking Macedonian police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that "political motives are not excluded," in the slaying.

Ahmeti's headquarters was not immediately available for comment.

The Tetovo shooting reflected continuing instability in northwestern Macedonia, months after the end of an insurgency that began in February 2001. Dozens were killed and tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes when fighting erupted between ethnic Albanian rebels and Macedonian authorities.

Ethnic Albanian rebels started their insurgency to fight for more rights for their minority, which accounts for more than a third of Macedonia's 2 million population.

Under a Western-brokered peace deal, the rebels ended their insurgency in September 2001 by surrendering weapons to NATO ( news - web sites) in exchange for an amended constitution and laws that granted them more rights and greater political influence.

[crazykatz]

Gang warfare albanian style.

[joan]

It is continuing:

Second drive-by shooting in as many days in former rebel stronghold

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES, Associated Press Writer

SKOPJE, Macedonia - Attackers gunned down an ethnic Albanian in a drive-by shooting Thursday, the second such attack in Macedonia's tense northwest this week.

Taip Beluti, 37, died at the hospital in Tetovo after being shot in the abdomen in the village of Neraste, just outside of Tetovo, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the capital Skopje, police said.

Attackers killed a former ethnic Albanian rebel commander Wednesday in a similar incident in Tetovo. Police arrested another ethnic Albanian, a former rebel from a rival group, in connection with the slaying.

The motives behind the attacks were not immediately clear. The attacks underlined the region's continuing instability, just over a month ahead of September general elections envisaged by a Western-brokered peace plan.

Tetovo and northwestern Macedonia were the scene of gunbattles when ethnic Albanians launched an insurgency in February 2001, fighting for broader rights for their minority, which comprises about a third of the country's 2 million population.

Dozens were killed and tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes before the peace deal ended the conflict six months later.

Meanwhile, at least 10 ethnic Albanians in the village of Sedlarevo, which is also near Tetovo, were wounded when a man opened fire from the second-story window of his home, randomly shooting at a wedding celebration in the village square. The attacker later fled the village.

Four of the villagers were reported to be in serious condition, police said.