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NATO Peacekeepers Seize Albanian Rebel Commander in Kosovo
NATO peacekeepers arrested an ethnic Albanian rebel leader in Kosovo on Monday night, paving the way for the deployment of Yugoslav forces in the "security zone" in southern Serbia, the official Tanjug news agency reported Tuesday.
The arrest of Muhamed Xhemajli, commander of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (LAPMB) operating in southern Serbia, was announced by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic.
Covic, Yugoslavia's top official in the "security zone" in southern Serbia, said Xhemajli's arrest has paved the way for the peaceful handover of the B sector of the zone to Yugoslav forces.
Xhemajli had vowed to resist the redeployment of Yugoslav forces in the B sector which he controlled. He warned last Tuesday that there would be war if Yugoslav forces enter the B sector on Thursday.
LAPMB Chief Commander Shefqet Musliu on Monday agreed to disband his forces in southern Serbia before May 31.
NATO decided on May 14 to allow Yugoslav forces to enter the B sector, which would enable the Yugoslav forces to take control of the whole "security zone" in southern Serbia.
The NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, known as KFOR, set up the so-called "security zone" between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia allegedly as a buffer zone after their entry into Kosovo in June 1999.
But the zone was later used by ethnic Albanian rebels in their terrorist attacks. NATO became tough on ethnic Albanians after conflicts spilled over into neighboring Macedonia in February this year.
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