Yugoslav forces and ethnic Albanian rebels pull-out of Lucane

(17 May 2001) Glogjan, Presevo Valley 1. KFOR Commanders approaching building for talks 2. UCPMB Commanders entering 3. Various of men seated around table 4. Cut to KFOR vehicle outside 5. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Shefket Musliu, UCPMB Commander: "We made an agreement and we signed that agreement yesterday for the withdrawal of our forces and the Serb forces from Lucane. But yesterday the Serb forces didn't sign this agreement. Now, as you can see, we've just received the paper from Mr Covic (head of the negotiation team from the Serb side) with his signature. So now we and the international community are going to keep an eye on the Serb side with respect to the agreement and the withdrawal from Lucane." 6. Soldier with gun outside building 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Shaun Sullivan, NATO Envoy for Yugoslavia: "Well, today we have got both sides to agree to the demilitarisation of the Lucane and Turija. And that should take place in the next three or four hours. Then at four pm, we will verify that both sides have taken the steps that they've agreed to." 8. Wide of men outside building Lucane, Presevo Valley 9. Wide of man driving tractor 10. UCPMB Soldier stands by sand bags 11. Wide of man on tractor approaching sandbags 12. Mid shot of UCPMB soldier 13. Civilian men load sandbags onto tractor 14. Men in army fatigues watch 15. Civilian moves plank from top of sandbags 16. Man removes large pipes from bunker 17. Civilians continue to move sandbags from barrier and load on tractor 18. Wide of same with mosque in background 19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lt commander Wayne Porter, KFOR "A very positive sign. Both sides seem to be participating in the demilitarisation of Lucane and Turija. I know this means a lot to the people in this area. I know we've been trying to accomplish this for some time and I'm encouraged that there seems to be a great deal of interest both from the Albanians as well as the Serbs to try to make this area free from any kind of overt military presence and try to return to normalcy here." 20. Wide of building with ruins in front 21. Mid shot of family inside building looking out Mucibaba, Kosovo - Buffer Zone border, 80 kms SE of Pristina 22. Wide of the checkpoint 23. Various of US KFOR soldiers at checkpoint 24. US KFOR checking vehicles crossing from Buffer Zone into Kosovo 25. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ist Lt Tony Leibert, US KFOR "We've had civilians coming in. They have been fleeing the Presevo Valley to move into Kosovo because they feel that it is not safe in the Presevo Valley. We also have UCPMB coming in and they were treated very fairly. They came in. They filled out a form that said they will not fight anymore, and they were allowed to go free." 26. Motorist and others at checkpoint STORYLINE: Ethnic Albanian rebels and Yugoslav forces agreed on Thursday to demilitarise a divided village near Kosovo, marking a key step forward in efforts to ease tensions in the southern part of the country. The agreement to pull-out of the village of Lucane eliminates a key flashpoint between the rebels and the army in southern Serbia, Yugoslavia's larger republic. Lucane has been divided since last November, with ethnic Albanian militants holding two-thirds of the village on one side of the Binacka Morava river and Serbian security forces entrenched in the remaining third. Representatives from NATO and the Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe will observe the pullout of forces. Soon after the deal was signed, rebels began pulling down a sandbag barrier that marked their positions. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...