As Yugoslav forces draw near,
residents desert Dobrosin
By Scott Schonauer,
Kosovo bureau
Terry Boyd / Stars and Stripes
American KFOR troops at Outpost Dobrosin detained "Rexet," left, and
"Lulzim." Troops suspected the two 15-year-olds of stealing a motorcycle,
which they told troops belonged to guerilla leader Shefket Musliu. |
DOBROSIN, Yugoslavia — A village that once teetered on the brink of war is
unusually quiet now, almost deserted.
On a Sunday afternoon, only old men with canes, menacing stray dogs and farm chickens
roam the dusty dirt roads. The handful of stores are closed. The mosque is empty.
Most of the 1,200 residents have fled. They left several days ago to avoid Yugoslav
forces returning to the buffer zone between southern Serbia and Kosovo.
Ethnic Albanian rebels fighting for greater control of the Presevo Valley also are
gone. Facing a powerful Yugoslav army, they turned themselves in along with truckloads of
weapons to NATO-led peacekeepers.
The exodus has left the town a shell of empty houses watched by a handful of men like
Reshat Salihu, who is worried about what Yugoslav soldiers will do when they enter the
village on Wednesday.
“If they come at night, it will be scary,” he said. “If they come during
the day, it will be OK. I just hope the world watches when they do.”
European Union monitors, the media and NATO-led peacekeepers have kept a close eye on
advancing Yugoslav troops into the three-mile-wide buffer zone around Kosovo.
About 4,000 soldiers and police began moving into the final part of the zone on
Thursday to flush out ethnic Albanian insurgents.
NATO established the buffer in 1999 after the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia to
put space between peacekeepers and Yugoslav soldiers. But for the past 16 months, rebels
had used the area as a base and a safe haven because both NATO and Yugoslav forces could
not enter.
With former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ousted from power, NATO decided
earlier this month to allow Yugoslav troops to move into the area gradually.
Monitors and peacekeepers said on Sunday that the operation has gone smoothly, without
any major problems. The only casualty so far has been an ethnic Albanian rebel commander
killed by Yugoslav troops.
Terry Boyd / Stars and Stripes
A 15-year-old, who would identify himself as "Rexet," holds up a patch
from the UCPMB, the Muslim guerrilla band that has surrendered to KFOR. |
Although concern spread in southern Serbia that the slaying of Ridvan Qasimi Lleshi
might spark more fighting, the Serbian government press office in Bujanovac reported
Monday that the situation was calm and the greatest fear was land mines.
It was eerily peaceful in Dobrosin, where rebels once staged a major training and
support base.
The town, usually filled with pedestrians and farmers driving tractors, looked
abandoned.
Early Saturday morning, dozens of rebels gathered their land mines, anti-tank weapons,
rifles and uniforms and handed them over to U.S. and Russian soldiers guarding the border.
Top commander Shefket Musliu turned himself in, saying: “It’s time to stop
the war.”
The only sign that the so-called Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac,
known by the Albanian acronym UCPMB, had occupied the town was a cemetery. Five fresh
graves were adorned with wreathes wrapped by red banners marked “UCPMB.”
One 67-year-old man who would not give his name said he is neither happy nor sad the
rebels have left. He just wants to live in his home without fear. He seemed perplexed by
the entire struggle between rebels and Serbian police.
“I don’t know why they have been fighting for so long,” he said.
Other residents said they are concerned about what might become of their town with the
rebels now out and the Yugoslav army coming in.
Two 15-year-old boys wandering the streets said they admired the rebels and hoped they
might return to pick up their arms to fight again. One carried a UCPMB patch in his
wallet.
Without the rebels gone, they said the Serbs would drive them out and burn their
houses.
“I should start digging my grave,” said one of the boys, who would only give
his first name: Rexet.
Selari Shefkiu also is pessimistic. He said he wishes U.S. soldiers had driven the
rebels out rather than the Yugoslav forces. He said NATO’s decision to allow the
Yugoslav troops into the buffer zone was made too fast, forcing ethnic Albanian residents
to flee.
“They didn’t even talk to us,” Shefkiu said.
As Yugoslav forces move closer to the central section of Sector B of the buffer zone,
residents said their main concern at the moment is running out of food.
The U.S. Army is considering opening up some of the routes leading into the Presevo
Valley, but residents said that decision might come to late.
“Nobody helps us,” Shefkiu said.
It could be several weeks before the hundreds of people who fled the town feel secure
enough to return.
Residents said they could not predict what will happen next, but many vowed to stay to
try and eke out a living — even if it is under the auspices of Serb police.
One man, who would not give his name, shrugged when he was asked what the future holds
for the town. He has lived day to day for the past 16 months. The future for them, he
said, is measured in hours and minutes, not days.
“What will tomorrow be like?” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll
be alive tomorrow.”
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