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Serbs torch Kosovo border
19/02/2008 21:12 - (SA)
Pristina - Groups of "angry" Serbs set fire to two crossing points on the Kosovo-Serbia border on Tuesday, prompting the first intervention by Nato peacekeepers since Kosovo declared independence, police and Nato spokespersons said.
The incidents occurred around 11:30 at the Gate 1 and Gate 31 border crossings at Jarinje and Banja respectively, police spokesperson Veton Elshani told AFP, adding that there were no casualties.
The UN interim mission in Kosovo and the Nato-lead peacekeeping Kosovo Force (KFOR) both confirmed the incidents, with a KFOR spokesperson saying troops had been deployed to intervene in what he called a "regrettable" situation.
The crossing at Jarinje is on the main highway linking Kosovo's capital Pristina with the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Elshani said the fires had been started by "angry" groups of Serbs, two days after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
UN spokesperson Alex Ivanko, citing information from the police, said fire had been set to containers housing offices at both crossings.
"Staff have been evacuated," he added.
Ivanko said that an apparent third fire at a customs house in the town of Zubin Potok, reported by a Serb media source, was in fact the incident at Banja, which is nearby.
KFOR has 17 000 troops in Kosovo, and prior to Sunday's declaration of independence its French commander said it would not hesitate to intervene to deter any violence.
Kosovo's minority Serbs, supported by Belgrade, strongly oppose independence for the overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian province, whose sovereignty was recognised on Monday by the US and major European nations.
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