PRISTINA, Aug 17 (Hina) - An organisation called the Albanian National Army (ANA) issued a statement on Sunday claiming responsibility for the attack on Serbian police on the border between Kosovo and the Presevo valley in southern
Serbia on Friday. It said neither side suffered any casualties.
PRISTINA, Aug 17 (Hina) - An organisation called the Albanian
National Army (ANA) issued a statement on Sunday claiming
responsibility for the attack on Serbian police on the border
between Kosovo and the Presevo valley in southern Serbia on Friday.
It said neither side suffered any casualties. #L#
Saying that it responded "in self defence", the organisation
expressed deep indignation at "irresponsible statements" by
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic, who said that the
attack had been carried out by the Kosovo Protection Corps, "which
is the same as the ANA".
"The ANA is in no way related to the Kosovo Protection Corps nor does
it maintain any communication with it. What's more, their paths are
completely different," ANA spokesman Alban Vjosa wrote, calling on
Albanian political leaders in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac to
unite around the ANA for the purpose of creating an ethnic Albanian
state.
Vjosa, a member of the ANA and its political wing, the United Front
for the National Unification of Albanians, said that Albanian
political leaders did not justify the confidence of their voters.
He said that the south of Serbia was "the Albanian territory
colonised by Serbs" and that the purpose of military bases set up
there was "to massacre the Albanian population".
The former UN civil administrator of Kosovo, Michael Steiner, has
declared the ANA a terrorist organisation following a string of
attacks that claimed civilian lives, but no appropriate action has
been taken to disarm this organisation and prevent it from
operating.
(hina) vm