Press Release (2000) 106 25 Nov. 2000

Statement Albanian separatists on Saturday, 25 November 2000, turned the bodies of three slain Serbian policemen over to KFOR forces in Kosovo. The three were killed in clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in the Ground Safety Zone in south-eastern Serbia earlier this week. The bodies were later handed over by KFOR to Yugoslav authorities at the north-eastern administrative boundary crossing of Merdare. The exchange was conducted with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross and co-ordinated through the KFOR Joint Implementation Commission, a body established within the Military Technical Agreement between NATO and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The return of the bodies came hours after Albanian separatists and Serbian police separately initiated cease-fires after days of fighting in the region. There has been little armed activity reported since the initiation of the cease-fires, which went into effect on Friday evening. UNMIK and KFOR continue to use all available channels to encourage the two sides to observe the declared cease-fires, and avoid new violence in the region.

Tel: Fax: +32 (0)2 707 50 41 +32 (0)2 707 50 57 B-1110 Brussels/Bruxelles http://www.nato.int press@hq.nato.int