Letter dated 21 September 2000 from the
Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council
Pursuant to Security Council resolution
1244 (1999), dated 10 June 1999, I have the honour to transmit herewith
the report on the international security presence in Kosovo for the period
from 23 July to 22 August 2000 (see annex). I should be grateful if you
could bring this report to the attention of the members of the Council.
(Signed) Kofi A. Annan
Annex to the letter dated 21 September 2000 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council
Monthly report to the United Nations on Kosovo Force (KFOR) operations
1. Over the reporting period (23 July-22 August 2000), there were approximately 44,800 Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops deployed in the theatre, with no major changes in deployment since the last report.
Security
2. The situation in Kosovo remained tense. Although incidents of ethnic violence and related crime decreased slightly in the past month, there were violent attacks against Kosovar Serbs in Kosovo Polje, Obilic and Stimlje (Multinational Brigade (MNB) (Centre)), against Goranis living in the Dragas Region (MNB (South)), and against Romas living near Decane and Bosniacs living in the Banja area (MNB (West)). On 2 August, three Romas were killed near Pristina (MNB (Centre)) by a mortar bomb. On 19 August, two hand grenades were thrown into a basketball court in the town of Crkvena Vodica (MNB (Centre)), injuring nine Kosovar Serb children.
3. On 29 July, United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) police were attacked on the road between Decane and Pec in MNB (West) after they had stopped a Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) car and ordered the five occupants out. The police were attacked by a crowd of around 100 people from a nearby wedding procession. KFOR troops near the scene quietened and dispersed the crowd.
4. On 14 August, KFOR troops, acting in response to a request from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, conducted a military operation in support of the temporary closure by UNMIK of the smelter plant at Zvecan near Kosovska Mitrovica in MNB (North). The plant was closed so that a technical assessment of the environmental hazards could be made. KFOR involvement in the plant closure ended on 15 August, when control of the factory was handed over to the UNMIK Special Police. KFOR troops continue to provide an external cordon around the factory.
5. Throughout the operation, Kosovar Serbs held demonstrations outside the factory, in the village of Zvecan and in Mitrovica in protest at the closure. These protests were largely peaceful, although Molotov cocktails were thrown in one instance, and six KFOR soldiers received minor injuries.
6. The situation in Kosovska Mitrovica remained relatively calm over the reporting period. The inauguration of a bridge in the city linking north and south was followed by a number of stone-throwing incidents. In addition to the demonstrations against the Zvecan plant closure, there were also reported incidents of intimidation against non-Kosovar Serbs in the north of the city.
7. Over the period under review, there were a number of attacks against members of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Party. On 4 August, the body of Kosovar Albanian lawyer and local LDK President Shabam Manajin was discovered near Glavica. He had been missing since 23 July. There were also assassination attempts made against two other LDK officials, and the bombing of a house belonging to a third LDK official in Dragas.
8. Throughout the period, KFOR troops continued to uncover and confiscate caches of weapons, ammunition and explosives. Most explosives recovered were destroyed in situ. Confiscated weapons are being destroyed as part of the commercial destruction programme. Between 20 July and 19 August, KFOR troops destroyed 462 such weapons. The total destroyed since the commercial weapons destruction programme began on 19 April is 4,098.
Illegal border activity
9. KFOR troops continued to provide appropriate control of Kosovo's internal boundaries and external borders and recognized crossing points. All but two of the recognized crossing points within each MNB into the ground safety zone remain closed. On 26 July, at the Prusit border crossing point (MNB (West)), two men were arrested after explosives were discovered in their car. Again on 26 July, one man was detained for attempting illegally to cross the border from Albania at the Morina South border crossing point in MNB (South). Two men were also detained there on 5 August after a similar attempt.
10. There were continued reports of paramilitary activities being conducted by the "Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac" in and around Dobrosin in the ground safety zone, including mortar attacks.
Security Council resolution 1160 (1998): arms embargo
11. Although KFOR operations continue to result in weapons seizures, there have been no reported violations of Security Council resolution 1160 (1998) of 31 March 1998.
Cooperation and compliance by the parties
12. There was a significant reduction in the number of incidents of non-compliance by KPC over the reporting period, with only seven such incidents registered.
13. Current KPC manning stands at 4,633, of which 101 come from minority groups. The KPC engagement in humanitarian work projects increased over the past month, with approximately 300 members now involved in 22 ongoing projects.
14. The Army and security forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia remain generally compliant with the terms of the military technical agreement and continue to be cooperative in their dealings with KFOR.
Cooperation with international organizations
15. KFOR continued to provide assistance to international organizations and non-governmental organizations throughout Kosovo on a daily basis, upon request.
16. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General announced that the municipal elections in Kosovo would take place on 28 October 2000. In support of this process, KFOR has developed an operations plan aimed at deterring any violence that may occur during the elections.
17. At 23 August, the UNMIK police force numbered 3,941, including 707 special police units and 202 border police.
18. On 12 August, 380 cadets graduated from the Kosovo Police Service school, bringing the number who have graduated from the school since September 1999 to 1,384.
Return of refugees and displaced persons
19. During July and the first two weeks of August, there were approximately 14,000 organized voluntary returns, primarily of Kosovar Albanians. Since the beginning of January 2000, there have been 56,442 organized returns.
Outlook
20. Inter-ethnic tensions are expected to remain high, especially in response to ongoing resettlement activities, and are expected to increase in the run-up to the 24 September elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the 28 October elections in Kosovo.