KOSOVO: CLASHES CONTINUE; ALBANIANS REQUEST ARMED INTERVENTION

( Editorial: --> 5950 ) PRISTINA, July 6 (Hina) - A number of civilians and Serb police officers were killed and wounded in Monday clashes in Kosovo, Albanian and Serbian sources reported today. Fierce fighting has been reported near the village of Loxhe, about four km from Pec. Since this morning, strong groups of armed Albanians have been attacking Serbian houses in Loxhe and the police who have come to the aid of Serb villagers, the pro-government Media Centre in Pristina reported. Two Serb police officers were killed and six were wounded this morning in the attacks of armed Albanians on Serbian police, the same source said without saying if there were any victims on the Albanian side. Since this morning, Serbian forces have been shelling Loxhe near Pec, where a number of Albanian houses are on fire, the Kosovo Information Centre reported adding that two Albanians from the village have been wounded. Serbian forces have wounded three Albanians while shelling the mountain village of Grejcevce. Albanian sources have also reported about Serbian attacks on villages near Obilic and Djakovica, near the Yugoslav-Albanian border. The Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova met the French Ambassador to Belgrade, Stanislav Filliol in Pristina on Monday. The two officials discussed possible measures for lessening tensions in Kosovo with . Rugova asked for urgent international intervention in preventing the escalation of violence. Ambassador Filliol expressed concern of his government over the developments in Kosovo and added that his country supported a just and peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis. During his talks with high Italian, Swedish and Russian diplomats who are visiting Kosovo, the president of the Kosovo Parliamentary Party, Adem Demaci, requested urgent intervention by the United States and NATO, so that conditions for negotiations could be created. (hina) jn rml 061854 MET jul 98