Anti-Russian Protesters Reopen Roads Into Kosovo Town
ORAHOVAC, Yugoslavia — Easing a three-month standoff, anti-Russian protesters Monday dismantled parts of a barricade surrounding this Kosovo town, allowing free passage on most roads for much-needed humanitarian aid.
Dozens of people knocked down tents and pushed trees, trucks and tractors off the road leading to Orahovac, which had been blocked to protest NATO’s decision to station Russian forces here.
Residents of Orahovac said Russian mercenaries helped Serbian forces loyal to Slobodan Milosevic commit atrocities during the Yugoslav president’s 18-month crackdown on ethnic Albanians.
A spokesman for the protesters said the demonstrators struck a verbal deal with North Atlantic Treaty Organization peacekeepers and the U.N. mission to clear all but one of the blocked roads.
“This gesture is a sign of respect for the United States and President Clinton ahead of his visit to Kosovo [today],” the spokesman said.
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