Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PRISTINA1064
2006-12-12 16:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:
KOSOVO: RAIL LINE CONNECTING SOUTHERN SERB
how-toVZCZCXRO3018 PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHPS #1064 3461642 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 121642Z DEC 06 FM USOFFICE PRISTINA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6821 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0946 RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK RHFMISS/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT RHMFISS/CDR TF FALCON RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC RUEPGEA/CDR650THMIGP SHAPE BE RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC RUFOANA/USNIC PRISTINA SR
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 001064
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR
DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM PTER UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: RAIL LINE CONNECTING SOUTHERN SERB
ENCLAVES AND MITROVICA DAMAGED IN EXPLOSION
Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 001064
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR
DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM PTER UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: RAIL LINE CONNECTING SOUTHERN SERB
ENCLAVES AND MITROVICA DAMAGED IN EXPLOSION
Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and local
media reported an explosion on a railroad bridge near the
town of Vushtrri on a line that serves Kosovo's Serb
community. The explosion damaged tracks and temporarily
disrupted rail service, but no injuries were reported. A
train carrying about a dozen Serbs was scheduled to cross the
bridge an hour after the explosion. Freedom of movement is a
key issue for the Kosovo Serb community, and this incident
will deepen their unease, particularly if the perpetrators
are not brought to justice. The COM used a media opportunity
in Serb-majority North Mitrovica to condemn the incident and
has also raised it with Kosovar leaders and UNMIK officials.
End summary.
2. (SBU) Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and Kosovo media
reported that an explosion occurred on the Ura e Frenkut
Bridge in Vushtrri municipality's Mihaliq village at about
1700 on December 8. The explosion damaged the railroad
tracks, temporarily disrupting rail traffic in northern
Kosovo. As a result of the incident, a train carrying a
dozen Serbs from Mitrovica toward the enclaves south of the
Ibar River was stopped in Vushtrri and the passengers were
transported to their destinations by bus. The train would
have crossed the bridge a little over an hour after the
explosion. No injuries were reported, and UNMIK Railways is
operating on a normal schedule again.
3. (C) Willie Hayward (protect) of UNMIK CIVPOL's Department
of Crime told poloff that French KFOR personnel heard the
explosion and responded immediately. An Albanian villager
also reported it to the police. Hayward said UNMIK CIVPOL's
counter-terrorist unit and the KPS have formed a working
group to investigate the incident. According to Hayward, no
witnesses have come forward, no one has claimed
responsibility for the incident, and the explosive device,
which appeared homemade, gave no clues as to who was
responsible. Hayward said that the device was placed at the
edge of the bridge and was not intended to blow up the
bridge, but to do just enough damage to the tracks to cause
the train to derail and fall into the river. Hayward pointed
out that the explosion occurred just before nightfall and
that if authorities had not responded to the scene and halted
rail traffic, the conductor would probably not have spotted
the damage in time to avert a derailment. He said the device
only knocked rocks out of place and the tracks onto one
another, so the damage would not have been visible from a
distance, especially in the dark.
3. (SBU) A similar incident occurred on April 12, 2003. Two
Albanian National Army (AKSH) members, who were also members
of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC),blew themselves up
while trying to mine the bridge near Zvecan over which a
trains connecting Serbia and Kosovo pass. The AKSH claimed
responsibility for the explosion, and UNMIK responded by
designating it a terrorist organization.
4. (SBU) COMMENT: The Mihaliq explosion is disturbing because
Kosovo Serbs frequently use this rail line and believe that
it is one of the safest ways for them to travel between
enclaves south of the Ibar River and Serb majority areas in
northern Kosovo. Failure by law enforcement (the KPS and
UNMIK CIVPOL) to find the perpetrators would further
undermine Serbs' and other minorities' confidence in the
ability of Kosovo authorities to protect their rights,
including their freedom of movement. The COM has raised
these issues with UNMIK senior officials and with Kosovar
authorities, urging them to intensify efforts to find the
perpetrators and condemn such incidents publicly.
5. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable in its
entirety for release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR
DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM PTER UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: RAIL LINE CONNECTING SOUTHERN SERB
ENCLAVES AND MITROVICA DAMAGED IN EXPLOSION
Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and local
media reported an explosion on a railroad bridge near the
town of Vushtrri on a line that serves Kosovo's Serb
community. The explosion damaged tracks and temporarily
disrupted rail service, but no injuries were reported. A
train carrying about a dozen Serbs was scheduled to cross the
bridge an hour after the explosion. Freedom of movement is a
key issue for the Kosovo Serb community, and this incident
will deepen their unease, particularly if the perpetrators
are not brought to justice. The COM used a media opportunity
in Serb-majority North Mitrovica to condemn the incident and
has also raised it with Kosovar leaders and UNMIK officials.
End summary.
2. (SBU) Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and Kosovo media
reported that an explosion occurred on the Ura e Frenkut
Bridge in Vushtrri municipality's Mihaliq village at about
1700 on December 8. The explosion damaged the railroad
tracks, temporarily disrupting rail traffic in northern
Kosovo. As a result of the incident, a train carrying a
dozen Serbs from Mitrovica toward the enclaves south of the
Ibar River was stopped in Vushtrri and the passengers were
transported to their destinations by bus. The train would
have crossed the bridge a little over an hour after the
explosion. No injuries were reported, and UNMIK Railways is
operating on a normal schedule again.
3. (C) Willie Hayward (protect) of UNMIK CIVPOL's Department
of Crime told poloff that French KFOR personnel heard the
explosion and responded immediately. An Albanian villager
also reported it to the police. Hayward said UNMIK CIVPOL's
counter-terrorist unit and the KPS have formed a working
group to investigate the incident. According to Hayward, no
witnesses have come forward, no one has claimed
responsibility for the incident, and the explosive device,
which appeared homemade, gave no clues as to who was
responsible. Hayward said that the device was placed at the
edge of the bridge and was not intended to blow up the
bridge, but to do just enough damage to the tracks to cause
the train to derail and fall into the river. Hayward pointed
out that the explosion occurred just before nightfall and
that if authorities had not responded to the scene and halted
rail traffic, the conductor would probably not have spotted
the damage in time to avert a derailment. He said the device
only knocked rocks out of place and the tracks onto one
another, so the damage would not have been visible from a
distance, especially in the dark.
3. (SBU) A similar incident occurred on April 12, 2003. Two
Albanian National Army (AKSH) members, who were also members
of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC),blew themselves up
while trying to mine the bridge near Zvecan over which a
trains connecting Serbia and Kosovo pass. The AKSH claimed
responsibility for the explosion, and UNMIK responded by
designating it a terrorist organization.
4. (SBU) COMMENT: The Mihaliq explosion is disturbing because
Kosovo Serbs frequently use this rail line and believe that
it is one of the safest ways for them to travel between
enclaves south of the Ibar River and Serb majority areas in
northern Kosovo. Failure by law enforcement (the KPS and
UNMIK CIVPOL) to find the perpetrators would further
undermine Serbs' and other minorities' confidence in the
ability of Kosovo authorities to protect their rights,
including their freedom of movement. The COM has raised
these issues with UNMIK senior officials and with Kosovar
authorities, urging them to intensify efforts to find the
perpetrators and condemn such incidents publicly.
5. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable in its
entirety for release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW