Kosovo leader's aide shot dead

Ibrahim Rugova: Trouble has followed his party's election win

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (Reuters) -- An adviser to moderate Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova has been shot dead in an ambush at his home, a colleague said.

Xhemajl Mustafa was shot four times by an unknown gunman and died on his way to hospital in the Kosovo capital Pristina on Thursday.

International officials had feared there could be an outbreak of politically motivated violence after Kosovo's first postwar elections last month, which were won by Rugova's party.

Mustafa was shot the day after a bomb attack in Pristina on the residence of the Yugoslav government's chief representative in Kosovo. One person died from wounds sustained in the blast.

Kosovo's U.N. police and NATO-led peacekeeping force confirmed the latest attack had taken place. They did not give the identity of the victim, but the colleague confirmed it was Mustafa.

"He was brought to hospital at 3:10 p.m. (1410 GMT) but he died on his way," said the colleague, who worked at the Kosovo Information Centre, which Mustafa headed.

A neighbour earlier said Mustafa was shot as he and another person walked up the stairs at the entrance of his apartment building in Pristina.

The scene was later cordoned off by peacekeepers and police.

Lieutenant-Colonel Garry Robison, commander of the Pristina battle group of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force, said people in the area had seen one person running away.

"Any shooting such as this is a bad sign," he said.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Kosovo Information Service
U.N. Interim Administration in Kosovo
KFOR

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