(6 Mar 2001) English/Nat
XFA
U-S peacekeepers in Kosovo continue to patrol the border with neighbouring Macedonia.
Armoured vehicles and two dozen humvees arrived in Debelde on Monday.
They've been patrolling and observing all movements on the other side of the line in Macedonia.
Two American Apache helicopters and a spy plane monitored the situation from overhead.
A spokesperson for U-S K-FOR soldiers in Debelde explained that armed groups were entering Kosovo and are using the villages to hide in as they changed out of their military fatigues and into civilian clothes.
The spokesman, Major James Marshall, said K-FOR was trying to stop this happening.
The rebels on Monday attacked government positions with mortars for the second time in as many days.
The militants near the border with Kosovo are believed to have ties with ethnic Albanian rebels fighting Yugoslav forces in the Presevo Valley of southern Serbia about ten kilometres (seven miles) to the north-east.
NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo have been trying to stop the flow of weapons and supplies to the rebels both in southern Serbia and in Macedonia.
SOUNDBITE (English)
"Throughout the day we have observed individuals wearing black uniforms and carrying weapons walking along the border area. Some of these individuals have been moving in and out of our view and others appear to be moving into houses and coming back out later dressed in civilian clothes without their weapons."
SUPER CAPTION: Major James Marshall, KFOR Spokesman
SOUNDBITE (English)
"We are seeing their actions. We are in the process of trying to determine who these people are, who they are associated with. What our main goal is here is to make sure the violence does not spill over into Kosovo. We've been going around the villages in the area to let people know why we have increased our number of troops here, to let them know we are here to get rid of the violence."
SUPER CAPTION: Major James Marshall, KFOR Spokesman
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