DIFFICULT SITUATION IN SRBICA - ALBANIAN SOURCES

PRISTINA, March 22 (Hina) - At least 16 Kosovo Albanians were killed in the region of Srbica in the past three days, the Kosovo Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms reported in Pristina on Monday. According to Albanian sources, Serb forces are setting afire Albanian houses in Srbica, and special police forces have executed several Kosovo Albanians, mostly intellectuals. The Kosovo Liberation Army's news agency "Kosovapress" reported that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are not allowed to enter Serbica. According to the agency, Serb police on Monday entered the village of Qireze, near Drenica, where several thousand Kosovo Albanians have found refuge. At least five Albanian villages in the area were burnt down in the past three days. Serb forces launched new attacks in the regions of Vucitrn and Podujevo, the Kosovo Information Centre reported on Monday. The Serb-run Media Centre in Pristina, however, reported that a group of armed Albanians attacked the police station in Malisevo on Sunday evening. Serb police fired back, the Media Centre said, adding there were no victims among police officers. (hina) it/rml