SERBIAN POLICE CONTINUES OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO

( Editorial: --> 7894 ) PRISTINA, March 7 (Hina) - The Serbian police operation which started two days ago in Donji Prekaz, Srbica municipality (about 50 km west of Pristina), continued on Saturday, said a representative of the Serbian Interior Ministry, Lieutenant Ljubinko Cetic, at a press conference today. Twenty-six Kosovo Albanians were killed in the operation. A stronghold, headed by "the leader of a terrorist gang Adem Jasari", was destroyed in the operation, Cetic said. According to the published data, two Serbian police officers were killed and seven were wounded. Journalists are still denied access to the area of Srbica, because of the ongoing operations, said Cetic. Cetic claimed that the army or Serbian paramilitary forces were not involved in the operation. Police helicopters, he said, were on a humanitarian mission, and did not participate in police operations. Asked about a reported slaughter of a 10-member Albanian family from Likosane, Cetic said he knew nothing about that, adding the police did not do it. The Kosovo Information Centre today reported that the shooting in Donji Prekaz near Srbica continued and that the situation in Drenica was very dangerous. A lot more than 50 Albanians were killed and the number of wounded is several times higher than the number of killed. A strong explosion could be heard today near Prekaz, coming from the villages of Acarevo and Vojnike. There is still no information about the consequences of the explosion. Police actions were reported in Josanice, a village near Klin and in Jablanica near Djakovica. There is no information as to the consequences of these attacks. (hina) rm 071808 MET mar 98