OUTLAWED militias are emerging from the shadows in the Balkans as Kosovo hurtles towards an independence deadline on December 10 that is likely to trigger a confrontation with Serbia.

Deep frustration with the West’s stalled bid to grant the province full autonomy in the face of Serbian and Russian opposition threatens to embroil the region in another round of bloodletting.

The Albanian National Army (ANA), a guerrilla group branded as “terrorists” by the United Nations in 2003, has already resurfaced, brandishing sophisticated sniper rifles and Kalashnikovs and pledging to “protect” Kosovo’s vulnerable northern fringe from Serbian aggression.

Kosovo’s Serbian minority, heavily backed by Belgrade, is arming itself in anticipation of a unilateral declaration of independence from the provincial government. Kfor, Nato’s 16,000-strong force, might be caught in the middle of a conflict potentially involving Russia as well.

Last week The Sunday Times met three members of the ANA at a secret location half an hour from Pristina. “The situation in Kosovo lately has obliged us to take up our weapons again because we have seen the failure of the international community,” said one of the men, who identified himself with the nickname Astriti.

He claimed the militia already carried out road patrols and erected nighttime checkpoints close to the Serbian border, near the municipality of Podujevo: “We are concentrated in north Kosovo since the population there is threatened by Serbian bands and regular military forces. They have been neglected by Nato forces and the Kosovo police.”

On December 10 a high level “troika” of senior Russian, American and European diplomats will present a report on the future status of Kosovo to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general. The province has been under UN control since 1999 when Nato bombing drove out Serbian forces amid gross human rights abuses on both sides.

Kosovo’s government, which faces a general election on November 17, has already said it may declare independence if the international community fails to take a decision by that deadline.

Among the groups braced for action is the War Veterans’ Association of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) – one of the largest and most successful guerrilla movements in recent history. Former KLA leaders say they are prepared to dust off their guns and renounce the ceasefire if provoked by Serbia.

“The delay of the Kosovo status decision has raised dissatisfaction among the population, especially among the former liberators,” said Avdyl Mushkolaj, a former KLA commander for the region of Dukagjini.

“This is the real end, we won’t allow any further playing with our destiny.

“If the status decision is delayed there is a big danger that the situation will run out of control. It will most probably start with protests that will turn to violence. None of our politicians have enough support to calm any riots.”

Mushkolaj insisted that while there was no appetite for war, the KLA’s structures, hierarchy and weapons still existed and could be rapidly mobilised. “The KLA is alive. Its members are still alive and willing to do another war if needed,” he said.

In a region where experience has shown that a fragile peace can be shattered in an instant, politicians on both sides have admitted that the diplomatic stand-off could lead to renewed military action or even a wider war.

“If there is a small fire in Kosovo, Serbia will put oil on the fire,” said Blerim Kuci, Kosovo’s interior minister. Such a conflict would have wider international implications: Serbia is backed by Russia, while the United States and most of the European Union support Kosovo’s independence bid. Kuci warned that any delay in the decision on status would create “a fertile ground for extremist elements” and lead to violence on the streets.

“A new political force would emerge on the scene by using violent means. This would be accompanied by protests and social tensions,” Kuci said.

Serbia has fired its own warning shots. Marko Jaksic, one of Serbia’s negotiators in the status talks and a close ally of Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian prime minister, cautioned last week that “Belgrade will not stand peacefully by while the territory is taken.

“In a case of recognition of independence there will be a radicalisation of Serbia,” Jaksic said. “There will be a fast arming of Serbia, even creating Russian military bases in Serbia, something like Iran today.”

Attempts by the Kosovo assembly to declare unilateral independence could be met with “military” resistance, he argued: “From that moment the battle will begin for the reintegration of Kosovo into Serbia.”

Such statements from Belgrade have struck a chord with the Serbian minority in Kosovo who, like the Albanians, fear ethnic reprisals against them.

Sources close to the police in the ethnically divided northern town of Mitrovica, where some of the most bitter tensions have occurred since the end of the war, claimed that the authorities had been handing out weapons to those fearful of renewed violence.

Mladen Vukicevic, a 36-year-old charity worker from the northern – and Serbian – part of the town, said that people were nervous. He knew of one cache of guns that he would be prepared to use.

“I would definitely fight to defend myself and my family. I don’t believe in the UN or in Kfor. I need to believe only in myself,” he said.

Additional reporting: Andrew Wander

Links

Albanian National Army(ANA) on Kosovo TV

Nato - Kosovo Force

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