The cordon and search operation, known as "Operation Ghibli," was the culmination of a long-term investigation carried out by the international peacekeeping force, KFOR, which targeted a criminal gang involved in smuggling, extortion and at least three homicides in the area of Djeneral Jankovic and Urosevac, south of the capital city of Pristina.

KFOR spokesman Major Scott Slaten said four other Albanians were reported to the local prosecutor for taking part in a criminal association.

The military police on Wednesday carried out a thorough and extensive search of 11 homes, which uncovered weapons, fake passports, foreign currency in cash and one Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) battle dress uniform with patches.

Most of the men arrested were former KLA fighters, while one of them is currently a Kosovo Protection Corps and another a Kosovo Police Service member. The arrested are being held until they are brought to court for possible criminal charges, Major Slaten said.

Several members of the gang arrested during "Operation Ghibli" are suspected of being responsible for three homicides that have been committed in the Djeneral Jankovic and Urosevac area, from December 1999 to January 2000.

UNHCR spokeswoman Maki Shinohara said over 6,000 people had been forcibly returned since February, in addition to more than 61,000 refugees who returned voluntarily from Europe and other countries. Altogether, more than 882,000 refugees have now returned to Kosovo since June 1999.

"UNHCR does not oppose the mandatory returns, if their needs for continued protection have been appropriately assessed and as long as the returns are done in a humane manner," Ms. Shinohara said. "We are concerned, however, about the return of minorities to Kosovo, as well as those who do not originate from Kosovo. Many Albanians who are from southern Serbia, for example, cannot return to their home villages and will only add to those who are still displaced inside Kosovo."

Ms. Shinohara said UNHCR had so far assisted some 80 Romas to return to their homes from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as a concrete follow-up to the Platform of Action for Roma, Egyptians and Ashkalija agreed by the Albanian leaders in April 2000. Also related to the Platform of Action, a second visit of the Albanian leaders to Roma communities is planned in the coming weeks.

Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hédi Annabi told the Council that the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was readjusting its police priorities in response to the violence, which was directed in particular against members of the Kosovo Democratic League (LDK).

"UNMIK will closely monitor all aspects of the electoral process and will use every means at its disposal to deter and punish acts of violence," Mr. Annabi said, adding that the Mission would continue its work aimed at improving the material and security conditions of Kosovo's ethnic minorities.

Some 90 per cent of Kosovo's Albanians participated in the registration process, with UNMIK working to ensure that it had been safe, but widespread intimidation by hard-line Serb elements had managed to dissuade the vast majority of Kosovo Serbs from taking part, he said. Kosovo Turkish participation was also limited, due to ongoing divisions within their own communities over the status of the Turkish language. The elections are set for 28 October.

During the debate which followed Mr. Annabi's briefing, Council members expressed divergent views on the holding of the elections. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation said the international presence had been unable to end armed provocation in the territory, and pushing ahead with the elections regardless of the ongoing situation was unwise.

By contrast, the representative of the United States, James B. Cunningham, said implementing the Council's mandate on Kosovo would take time and patience, and the elections would mark an important step in the transitional administration process.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative in Kosovo, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, is expected to report to the Council next month on UNMIK's activities.

The report, released today, says the situation is likely to be exacerbated by the increasing number of returning refugees during the summer months and by a possible increase in tension resulting from political rivalry in the run up to the municipal elections in October.

The report on the international security presence in Kosovo, covering the period from 23 June to 22 July 2000, states that the situation in Kosovo remained tense over the period, with continuing ethnic violence and related crime against all groups, but particularly Serbs and Roma.

The report also says there were a number of attempted illegal border crossings during the reporting period, but KFOR troops continued to provide appropriate control of Kosovo's internal boundaries and external borders and recognized crossings.

There were continued reports of paramilitary activities being conducted by the "Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac" in and around Dobrosin, the report adds, including mortar and small arms attacks against elements of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior Police, causing some casualties.

The number of reported incidents of noncompliance and disciplinary offences by individual members of the Kosovo Protection Corps--former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army--decreased during the month of July. "However, the frequency of weapons violations and incidents involving threatening behaviour remain at a significant level", the report said.

The Victims Recovery and Identification Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have positively identified 44 of the remains exhumed by forensic experts from Dragodan city cemetery this summer.

UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manual said most of these are known or believed to be Kosovar Albanians, but there may be remains of Serbs or other minorities among those found, she said. Clothes and other artefacts found with the bodies have been exhibited to help families to try to identify the victims. Ms Manual said a book of photographs of the clothing and the artefacts is being assembled and will be distributed to minority communities and to organizations that might represent families of the missing, Ms Manual said.

The exhumations, completed in late July, were conducted by a team of experts from the United Kingdom working for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in conjunction with UNMIK police. ICTY is conducting official exhumations in Kosovo as part of its work to establish evidence of war crimes.

The two men, a 54 year-old Kosovar Albanian man and his 21 year-old son travelling in a vehicle, became aggressive towards the KFOR soldiers when they were stopped near the village of Svinjare, five kilometres south of Mitrovica. The KFOR soldier then fired several shots at the men.

Both men were wounded and given first aid at the scene. The 54 year-old man, however, was pronounced dead on the way to a hospital. His son was operated on in the military hospital in Mitrovica and is under observation.

Police officials from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) are conducting an investigation into the incident.

KFOR also reported that last night in the village of Gracko, several shots were fired at houses from a passing vehicle. Investigators at the scene believe the vehicle had two male occupants. UNMIK and KFOR officials are searching for the suspects.