WASHINGTON -- An extra contingent of 125 U.S. Army soldiers is being dispatched to Kosovo to help monitor a border area with southern Serbia where ethnic Albanian militias have been stirring up trouble.
In a separate but related move, Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered the Army to send 14 tanks and six 155mm artillery guns to a 1st Armored Division company in Skopje, Macedonia -- just across the border from Kosovo -- as a deterrent to "mischief" in southern Serbia, spokesman Kenneth Bacon said Thursday.The 1st Armored Division unit has been in Skopje since January without its normal set of tanks and artillery. Bacon said he could not immediately explain why they had been sent there without the weapons.
The moves reflect a growing American and NATO concern about the potential for a flare-up of ethnic violence in the Presevo Valley, a predominantly ethnic Albanian area adjacent to Kosovo. Just two days ago the State Department expressed disappointment that ethnic Albanian militia groups have failed to live up to a commitment made earlier this month to end an insurgency in that section of southern Serbia.
On Thursday, the State Department warned the Albanians in Kosovo to avoid provocative acts in that area.
"Rest assured that our antenna are up," spokesman James B. Foley said. "We are going to be very vigilant. And we are prepared to act."
Extremist Albanians are accused of storing weapons and provoking the Serbs. Earlier this month U.S. peacekeepers, who are responsible for southeastern Kosovo, launched raids to seize Albanian arms.
Bacon said the tanks and artillery headed for Macedonia would provide U.S. troops there with an extra measure of self-protection and enable the troops to conduct their normal training with a full set of weapons.
"It (also) will serve as a deterrent to any mischief that might take place along the borders of Macedonia," Bacon said.
Both new deployments -- the tanks and artillery as well as the soldiers -- were requested by Brig. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, Bacon said.
The deployment of 125 extra Army soldiers is designed to provide more "eyes and ears" in the Presevo Valley area, Bacon said.
"If they see things along the border that require investigation by people on foot, it's these men and women who will provide the duty investigating," he said. "They're basically foot soldiers. And as I say, they operate as eyes and ears for Brigadier General Sanchez and his troops, and they'll be patrolling in the border area." Bacon said the 125 soldiers are to remain in Kosovo for about six months.