(AFP) KFOR arrest 79 presumed ethnic Albanian rebels on Kosovoborde

[Paola Lucchesi <paola.lucchesi@mail.inet.it>]

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010327/1/lcfz.html

Wednesday March 28, 3:49 AM

KFOR arrest 79 presumed ethnic Albanian rebels on Kosovo border

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, March 27 (AFP) - The NATO-led peacekeeping force
in Kosovo (KFOR) said Tuesday it had arrested 79 people believed to be
ethnic Albanian rebels who were hiding among refugees as they crossed
the border from Macedonia.
    "During the past 24 hours, 79 persons identified as members of the
National Liberation Army (NLA) have been arrested," explained spokesman
Massimo Fogari.
    He said that they had been mixed in with thousands of refugees
fleeing the fighting with Macedonian forces in the northwest Tetovo
region.
    They arrived in Prizren in southern Kosovo on Sunday. Fogari said
those detained were not armed.
    "We are checking all refugees who cross the border and suspect
people are questioned and then arrested if they are identified as
Albanian activists of the NLA," he added.
    More than 3,000 refugees have arrived in the Prizren region since
Sunday, including women and children, having walked through the
mountainous border region.
    Earlier, a KFOR spokesman in Tetovo said 18 armed men had been
arrested after crossing the same border and that several suspects were
in police custody.

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