25 PEOPLE KILLED IN KOSOVO BATTLES

( Editorial: --> 9946 ) PRISTINA, July 26 (Hina) - Violent battles between members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (OVK) and Serbian forces continued throughout Kosovo on Sunday morning, both Albanian and Serbian sources reported. Twenty-three Albanians and two Serbian policemen were killed in the last two days, they added. Strong battles are being fought in three villages of Shtimlje Municipality near Crnoljevo on the Pristina-Prizren road, and in Glogovac and Suva Reka Municipalities. The Kosovo Information Centre reported, quoting two witnesses from Zborce, a village near Shtimlje, that almost 300 members of the Serbian security force in downtown Zborce were shelling and setting fire to Albanian houses. The village school was completely demolished, while many Albanian houses in the villages of Crnoljevo and Belince were also damaged. The pro-Serbian government Media Centre in Pristina reported that two Serbian policemen were killed and two were wounded in two-day conflicts near Crnoljevo. These conflicts also resulted in the death of 11 members of the OVK, the same source said. Albanian sources reported that Serbian forces were setting fire to Albanian houses in Vukovce and Komorane, villages near the Pristina-Pec road. (hina) ha 261522 MET jul 98