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Serbs Storm UN's Kosovo Courthouse

Angry crowd clashes with UN police, occupies buildings in divided town

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 15, 2008 8:11 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Hundreds of Serbs smashed down gates at two United Nations-run courthouses in northern Kosovo yesterday and stormed the buildings, AFP reports. The mob, opposed to Kosovo's independence, hauled down the UN flag and hoisted the Serbian one. They clashed with UN police, pelting them with rocks and metal objects. NATO's secretary-general condemned the violence as an unacceptable provocation.

The Serb militants said they wanted to set up their own court for Kosovo's Serbs. The chief of the UN's Kosovo mission said police had been ordered "to restore law and order" and "ensure that the court house is again under UN control," while Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders urged the UN to "pull the hooligans out of the building." The court buildings have been a focus for Serb protests since Kosovo declared independence last month.

Kosovo Serbs under the banner reading 'Kosovo is Serbia' during a protest against the independence of Kosovo in the Serbian part of the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica.
Kosovo Serbs under the banner reading 'Kosovo is Serbia' during a protest against the independence of Kosovo in the Serbian part of the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica.   (AP Photo/Srdjan Ilic)
A mock Pandora's Box lies on the ground after it was left by Kosovo Serb students in front of UNMIK and KFOR police securing the bridge in the divided town of Kosova Mitrovica.
A mock Pandora's Box lies on the ground after it was left by Kosovo Serb students in front of UNMIK and KFOR police securing the bridge in the divided town of Kosova Mitrovica.   (AP Photo/Srdjan Ilic)
Kosovo Serb judiciary clerks sit by a riot-police unit inside the UN court compound in the northern, Serb-dominated part of the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica, Friday, March 14, 2008.
Kosovo Serb judiciary clerks sit by a riot-police unit inside the UN court compound in the northern, Serb-dominated part of the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica, Friday, March 14, 2008.   (AP Photo/Zveki)
Serbian protesters flash 3-fingers salute at UN riot police forces securing the main entrance to the compound housing the UN and OSCE mission in Kosovska, Mitrovica, Kosovo.
Serbian protesters flash 3-fingers salute at UN riot police forces securing the main entrance to the compound housing the UN and OSCE mission in Kosovska, Mitrovica, Kosovo.   (AP Photo/Zvezdan Djukanovic)
A Kosovo Serb boy waves a flag with Serbian colors while protesting Kosovo's independence in the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica
A Kosovo Serb boy waves a flag with Serbian colors while protesting Kosovo's independence in the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica   (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
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Attack appears to have been coordinated by Belgrade
Press Association

Tension high in northern Kosovo
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UN calls for an end to Serbian interference
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United Nations • Serbia • Kosovo • courts • Kosovar independence • Ethnic Serbs

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