Probe into Serbian border killing An investigation has been launched into the killing of an ethnic Albanian youth by a Serbian guard patrolling the border with Macedonia.
The 16-year-old boy was shot dead as he made an illegal crossing from Macedonia into the troubled Presevo valley. Around 200 people protested in the boy's home village of Miratovac on Friday, declaring the killing murder. Serbian Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinic has travelled to the region to appeal for calm and meet officials. Tensions The victim, named as Dashnim Hajrullahu, was returning home to Miratovac, which is around 500m from the border. Sami Ajdini, a relative of the boy, told AFP that he had gone to visit his mother in Macedonia and that this was not first time he had illegally crossed the border. Police said the youth had ignored repeated commands to stop. The inquiry is being conducted by Serbian magistrate Ivan Bulatovic. Mr Bulatovic said he had ordered an autopsy and that he expected to get the results and the findings of other experts within a week. "A soldier at a (border) guard post shot at this young man, but I cannot give details as the investigation is underway," he said. Defence Minister Mr Davinic arrived in the region and met local ethnic Albanian officials in a bid to diffuse tensions. Serbia and Montenegro has recently stepped up its military presence in the region bordering the UN-administered province of Kosovo. Presevo valley was the scene of fighting between Serb soldiers and ethnic Albanian guerrillas three years ago and remains tense today. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4157901.stm Published: 2005/01/08 17:06:51 GMT C BBC MMV Serbian News Network - SNN news@antic.org http://www.antic.org/
