(10 Mar 1997) Natural Sound
Albanian rebels have continued to consolidate their hold on the south of the country, despite an offer by President Sali Berisha to meet many of their demands.
Looting continued in the latest towns to fall into rebel hands, including Permet and Gjirokastra.
In Permet, which fell to the insurgents Sunday, the funeral took place of two people killed in skirmishes between withdrawing government troops and the heavily-armed militants.
A large crowd turned out in Permet -- 20 kilometres northeast of Gjirokastra -- to mourn the deaths of the latest two victims of unrest in Albania.
The town fell to the rebels on Sunday with little loss of life.
These two men were killed in one of the few skirmishes between withdrawing government troops and the heavily-armed militants.
Permet was one of three towns to fall Sunday, joining Berat and Corovod.
The rebels celebrated by firing round after round of bullets into the air.
They have vowed to fight on, despite an offer by President Sali Berisha to meet many of their demands.
The President has called on Albanians to hand in their weapons, but many refuse to do so until he resigns.
Berisha met with representatives of 10 political parties, including his own Democrats, on Sunday to try to quell the unrest.
Their agreement included a gradual lifting of the state of emergency imposed a week ago, and elections to be held no later than June.
Berisha also agreed to an interim government, made up of all Albania's political parties prior to elections.
Previously, he had tried to keep his main rivals, the Socialists, out of the government.
The Socialists are the successors to the communists, who kept Albania isolated and impoverished for decades.
But in the south of the Balkan country -- where the unrest has been focused -- rebels continue to consolidate and extend their areas of control.
Permet, 120 miles south of Tirana, had a thousand-man army barracks that could have moved against the rebel forces.
Those army units, however, reportedly started to withdraw following Sunday's political agreement.
The rebels simply moved in and looted the well-stocked depots as the government troops and police pulled out.
The military post in Gjirokastra, which fell Saturday, now stands empty -- ransacked by the rebels.
All that's left after the guns and ammunition were looted, are deserted corridors and empty rooms.
In the streets, men fired their weapons into the air, and even young boys paraded their looted arms.
The insurgents blame Berisha for allowing the pyramid investment schemes to flourish.
It was the collapse of these schemes which triggered Albania's popular uprising when it deprived thousands of Albanians of their life savings.
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7 авг 2024
