United Nations Foundation - UN WIRE
Thursday, March 8, 2000
KOSOVO: More Violence Erupts In Mitrovica
Kouchner Says Violence Is A Victory For Extremists
Annan Calls For Debate, More Funding
Yugoslavia Accuses UN of Genocide
Ethnic Albanians Flee Southern Serbia For Kosovo
KOSOVO: More Violence Erupts In Mitrovica
More violence erupted yesterday in the divided Kosovo city of Mitrovica, as explosions and ethnic clashes resulted in several injuries.
Dozens of people, including French peacekeepers, ethnic Albanians and Serbs, were wounded yesterday in a brawl that escalated into retaliatory attacks. A spokesperson for the peacekeepers said as many as 17 French troops were injured by grenade shrapnel. Up to 20 Serbian civilians and five ethnic Albanians were also reported injured. Later, several strong explosions were heard near three apartment buildings mainly inhabited by Albanians.
According to NATO's KFOR peacekeeping force, the violence was sparked by two small groups of people who were exchanging insults in Mitrovica's northern section. A crowd gathered and others joined the dispute. Shots were fired and grenades thrown into the crowd.
KFOR peacekeepers reported calm overnight in Mitrovica, but an explosion shattered the tranquility early this morning. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, which occurred on Mitrovica's north side.
Yesterday's violent clash was one of the most serious outbreaks in Mitrovica. The number wounded was the most since 12 October, when 33 people were wounded near a bridge connecting the Serbian and Albanian portions of the city.`
Kouchner Says Violence Is A Victory For Extremists
Bernard Kouchner, the chief UN administrator in Kosovo, said yesterday's violence is a victory for both ethnic Albanian and Serbian extremists. Authorities in the province, however, should not be discouraged he said.
"We have to build confidence," Kouchner said. "I know that this is a very difficult task but we have to go on and not to be discouraged by what happened in Mitrovica because the future of the divided city is to be unified and the future of the country is to live in peace".
Annan Calls For Debate, More Funding
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called yesterday for a Security Council debate on Kosovo's status, saying the UN "is operating in a very ambiguous situation, in a limbo, because the future of Kosovo's political outline has not been defined."
Both Serbian and ethnic Albanian communities want Kosovo's status to be determined, Annan said. "Without that both communities will have a different understanding, and it will be difficult for Bernard Kouchner and his team to get their job done".
Annan also appealed for member states to give the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) the necessary resources for its mission. Support, he said, has been "very slow in coming." Recent donations and pledges by the European Union, Annan added, are "a good step, but it has to be sustained by all governments".
Yugoslavia Accuses UN Of Genocide
Yugoslavia lashed out yesterday at the United Nations, saying its flag "has been used and abused" to commit ethnic cleansing and genocide. Vladislav Jovanovic, Yugoslavia's UN envoy, said ethnic Albanian attacks against Serbs in Kosovo had escalated since the province was taken over by UNMIK in June. The UN, he added, has committed a "heinous policy and practice of ethnic cleansing and genocide against other national groups than Albanians".
Ethnic Albanians Flee Southern Serbia For Kosovo
Meanwhile, more ethnic Albanians have fled their homes in southern Serbia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said yesterday. According to UNHCR, 626 people registered at the agency's field office in the town of Gnjilane in eastern Kosovo, saying they fled Serbia because of continuing tensions.
To date, 1,658 Albanians from southern Serbia have registered with UNHCR as internally displaced. The agency said it believes the actual number of displaced could be much higher, however, since many do not register.
