Kosovo Serbs Mourn 6 Men Slain in Bar
PEC, Yugoslavia — Church bells pealed and tears and anger mixed freely Wednesday as thousands mourned six young Kosovo Serbs killed in a barroom slaughter blamed on ethnic Albanian rebels.
The attack in Pec--condemned as “appalling beyond words” by U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke--prompted Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to renew his quest to wipe out “terrorism” by separatists. It also raised fears that inflamed ethnic passions will lead to a return to war in the southern province.
Ethnic Albanians make up 90% of the 2 million people in Kosovo, a province of Serbia, the main republic in Yugoslavia. Most of them want independence. More than 1,000 people have been killed since Milosevic launched a crackdown on separatists in February, and 300,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, have been forced from their homes.
Monday’s shootings in Pec came on the bloodiest day since an October cease-fire agreement ended months of fighting between Serbian forces and rebels. The Yugoslav army claimed to have killed 36 guerrillas in a border clash with the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA.
No one has claimed responsibility for the shootings, in which masked gunmen sprayed a bar full of Serbs.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
