ALBANIAN NATIONAL ARMY REPORTEDLY RECRUITING IN MACEDONIA

ALBANIAN NATIONAL ARMY REPORTEDLY RECRUITING IN MACEDONIAN "CRISIS REGIONS"
Published by Macedonian newspaper Dnevnik on 22 February 2003

The Albanian National Army ANA - AKSh in Albanian is trying to recruit Albanians from the crisis regions by convincing them that "the woods are full of volunteers" and that the Western countries support them. Former ONA National Liberation Army - UCK in Albanian , OVK Kosovo Liberation Army - UCK in Albanian and OVPMB Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvegje and Bujanovac - UCPMB in Albanian commanders are now operating in the Tetovo villages and the Skopje and Kumanovo regions. The local population does not support them, but intelligence officers fear that the local Albanians will begin to help the "fighters for the cause".

The ANA has three sections that cover "the Albanian territories" outside their homeland. "Corpus Malesiya" covers the territory of Montenegro; "Dardaniya and Ilirida" operate in Macedonia and southern Serbia; and "Chemeriya" covers part of southern Albania and northwestern Greece. The ANA's "General Staff" consists of Hekuran Aslani, Vitan Gradica, Isuf Sulaj and Idriz Smothana, who are believed to have been generals in the Albanian Army. The ANA uses its intensive appearance in public for its promotion in the media and to present itself as an organized military structure. Intelligence officers believe that ANA groups are using the regular exercises of the Kosovo Protection Corps for their training and that they have an arsenal in the border region.

According to intelligence officers, the groups of Malic N'drecaj Mala, Sami Uksimi Sokoli and Met Mucali Meti are operating in the Tetovo area, while the group of Commander Hoxha from Prizren was noticed near Lisec. The Poroj, Djepciste and Neprosteno regions are under the "jurisdiction" of Daut Rexhepi Leka and several former ONA commanders.

Leka is trying to coordinate and unite the groups operating around Slatino, Djermo and Prsovce. Malic N'drecaj and Commander Leka are regarded as the most extreme "fighters for the cause" in the Tetovo region. The extremists have distributed leaflets in the Tetovo villages calling for recruits, but none of the local residents has applied.

The group of Sait Rusiti from Rakovec is operating around the villages of Recica, Placiste, Pirok and Rakovec. Dnevnik sources claim that Rusiti was captured during the police raid in Bogovinje, but was released after the local residents demonstrated and the policemen retreated to the DUI Democratic Union for Integration - BDI in Albanian headquarters.

The group of Xhavid Morina, that is, Commander Drenica, who attacked BDI leader Ali Ahmeti's headquarters in Recica last March with the group of Enver Rufati Xhaxhi, is operating in the Lipkovo region. Xhavid Morina is accused of kidnapping people in the Tetovo region, and Kfor Kosovo Force in Kosovo has also issued a warrant for his arrest. Intelligence officers believe that Morina is one of the most extreme supporters of the national liberation front, and he is also known to have been hiding in Italy for some time. The group of Commander Maliseva from Kosovo is operating in the Kumanovo region. Ridvan Neziri from Tanusevci, who is suspected of participating in the murder of a policeman at the Circanka shopping centre and has been accused of drugs smuggling, is also mentioned in this region. Neziri participated in the Tanusevci conflict under Xhavid Asan's command.

The ANA group led by Commander Baruti, that is, Xhemail Ljamaljari from Matejce, former commander of the ONA's so-called 113th Brigade, is operating in the Kumanovo-Lipkovo region. The group usually consists of three to eight extremists and changes location frequently. Baruti is keeping in constant contact with Muhamed Krasnici, Commander Maliseva, and he frequently attends meetings in Vitina. This group's "link" on the Kosovo side of the border is Fadil Asan from Tanusevci, brother of lumberjack Xhavid Asan, who was ONA commander. Intelligence sources claim that the groups are carrying out "propaganda and psychological activities" to obtain the Albanian citizens' support.

"The Albanians' National Unity Front", of which the ANA is the military wing, is trying to transform the criminal gangs in the Tetovo region into ANA "units". The groups are not coherent and organized and, so far, are not coordinated by the central command structure. The groups usually consist of three to five people, who move constantly. They are armed with light infantry weapons, with low fire capacity, and are not supported either by the local population or the Albanians who live abroad.

Source: Dnevnik, Skopje, in Macedonian 22 Feb 03 pp 1, 2

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