Ex- KLA members want terrorists buried "with honors"

Ex- KLA members want terrorists buried "with honors"

It was reported earlier on Thursday that Macedonian authorities would turn over nine bodies to Pristina. Among them are two leaders of the group that on May 9 and 10 clashed with the Macedonian police - Mirsad Ndrecaj, aka "Commander NATO," and Beg Rizaj, aka "Commander Begu".

The Pristina daily reports today that "independent of the authorities' decision, the funerals will not be without honors since veteran organizations mobilized to organize a joint funeral for all nine who were killed."

Should they receive a negative reply from the authorities, "the veterans plan to wear their KLA uniforms which, they believe, would mean the funerals went with military honors," said the daily.

The report quoted Avdil Mushkolaj, who heads one of the associations, as saying that those killed in Kumanovo were "veterans, because they took part in three wars (in Kosovo, Macedonia, and southern Serbia) and fought for the same ideals."

The newspaper learned from the Kosovo government that the demands will be considered "at the highest level" but that the chance of the KSF taking part in the funeral protocol was slim, "since that would have political implications related to Macedonia."

The authorities in Skopje announced earlier that the region's most dangerous terrorist group was destroyed in Kumanovo, and that the group's goal was to carry out attacks and destabilize the state.

It was initially announced that 14 Albanian terrorists died during the fighting, but this number was later revised to ten. Eight Macedonian police officers lost their lives.

Dozens of ethnic Albanians have also been captured by the Macedonian police during the operation, and the media in Kosovo have been reporting that they have been "tortured and mistreated in prison" - something that Macedonian Ombudsman Ixhet Memeti "has confirmed," RTS said.

The Macedonian police have not commented on these allegations.