KOSOVO: PRIZREN: SERB TROOPS REPORTEDLY WITHDRAWING

(14 Jun 1999) Natural Sound

Regular Serb army troops are reported to have begun pulling out of Prizren, Kosovo's second-largest city.

Serb soldiers and paramilitaries rumoured to be part of the elite "Arkan's Tigers" unit were seen driving out of the city late on Sunday.

They were withdrawing from Prizren under supervision of KFOR troops.

But the withdrawal wasn't without incident, with reports of renewed looting and burning of homes in what were formerly ethnic Albanian neighbourhoods

KFOR tanks and crews took up positions in Prizren on Sunday night to oversee what seemed to be the start of the withdrawal of Serbian troops from the city.

A steady stream of army vehicles - including trucks, jeeps and some heavy earth moving equipment - was seen moving out in convoy.

Many of the trucks were uncovered and Serb troops were clearly visible in the back.

Most were still heavily armed and many appeared defiant in the face of the pull-out.

Dozens of civilian cars and vans were also in the line of vehicles heading out of the city.

It's thought some of them contained members of the notorious "Arkan's Tigers" paramilitary unit.

But as the exodus got under way, reports emerged of further looting and burning by Serb troops in Prizren.

The reports suggest that the Serbs embarked on a final campaign of destruction in the neighbourhoods which were formerly dominated by ethnic Albanians.

Some reports said the attacks took place within the eyesight of NATO troops.

KFOR soldiers described seeing homes still burning, others had obviously been ransacked.

Many others also showed signs of bomb damage.

As part of the peace accord signed last week between NATO and Serb military authorities, Serb troops have until Tuesday to be out of southern Kosovo, and area which includes Prizren, the province's second largest city.

Prizren had been one of the Serb forces' relative strongholds.

Sunday night's apparent pullout came hours after a tense standoff involving German peacekeepers.

More than 12-hundred German troops were rolling into Prizren when sniper fire erupted.

One soldier was wounded and the Germans fired back, killing one man and wounding another.

The shooting incident came on only the second day of the NATO mission.

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