Kosovo burns amid NATO-Moscow

At least 15 people died violent deaths in a period of 24 hours in Kosovo up to Friday, underlining the perils that remained as record num...

At least 15 people died violent deaths in a period of 24 hours in Kosovo up to Friday, underlining the perils that remained as record numbers of ethnic Albanians continued to stream home.Three of the dead were Serb academics whose corpses were found at Pristina University. They had been murdered, NATO officers in the KFOR peacekeeping force said. Meanwhile, statements by Russian government and military officials showed the continuing divergences between Moscow and NATO despite last week8217;s agreement for Russian troops to operate alongside NATO soldiers in KFOR.

The spontaneous flood of exiles since the first KFOR contingents entered Kosovo on June 12 is much higher than the UNHCR expected. It had originally predicted that between 400,000 and 500,000 would return by the end of September. 8220;All three UNHCR border monitoring posts in Albania, Macedonia and the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro registered record numbers,8221; UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said.

Tension between Russia and its NATO peacekeepingpartners in Kosovo was, meanwhile, fuelled by press reports and official statements in Moscow. The problems began just before KFOR troops entered Kosovo at the end of NATO8217;s air campaign, when Russian troops stole a march by seizing Pristina airport with jus T-200 troops. That was to prepare the airlift of at least 1,000 Russian soldiers to Kosovo, the Washington Post reported Friday.The plan failed when Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania 8212; under US prssure 8212; refused to grant the Russians overflight rights to send in the reinforcements. The difference in approach between Russia and the NATO allies was highlighted Friday by comments by a senior Russian general that Moscow8217;s troops serving with KFOR will not arrest war-crimes suspects accused of atrocities in the troubled Yugoslav province.

General Leonid Ivashov, a leading anti-NATO hawk, told the Nezavisimaya Gazeta Newspaper: 8220;Russia has its own point of view on the issue and our soldiers would not carry out a mission connected with the realisation of suchplans.8221;

Ivanov called for the KLA to be disarmed 8220;immediately and completely8221;. Russian senators, meeting in closed session, unanimously gave the green light to the deployment of 3,600 paratroopers who will join KFOR, Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev said.