Albanian bandit chief arrested in Kosovo
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - December 26, 2004, Sunday  

Skopje/Pristina - United Nations police in Kosovo arrested an Albanian bandit chief wanted by authorities in Belgrade and Skopje, UNMIK said Sunday. Lirim Jakupi, who is also known by his nom-de-guerre Nazi, fled to Kosovo after one of his fighters died in a shootout with Macedonian police in the town of Tetovo on Saturday. Two other gunmen were arrested in a police operation which saw gunfire, explosions and casualties on both sides. Jakupi managed to flee to Kosovo. However, U.N. police and NATO-led peacekeepers immediately arrested him in Pristina and transferred him to a U.S. military base in eastern Kosovo. Jakupi led a group of Albanian gunmen which occupied Kondovo village on the western outskirts of Skopje in early November, threatening to attack government institutions in the capital. The stand-off between the gunmen and Macedonian security forces ended two weeks ago after intervention by Kosovo's Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who warned the rebels that they were creating problems for the Albanian quest for an independent Kosovo. In Serbia, Jakupi is wanted for the murder of a secret police agent in the volatile Presevo Valley two years ago.

16:11:23 Central European Time

Copyright 2004 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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