Kosovo Mob Defies NATO

NATO-led peacekeepers on Thursday promised to track down ethnic Albanians who stormed a convoy of Serbs leaving Kosovo, setting fire to vehicles and forcing dozens to take refuge in an Italian military garrison.

The attack Wednesday against the NATO-escorted convoy was one of the most serious incidents of ethnic violence since the peacekeepers, known by the acronym KFOR, arrived in Kosovo on June 12.

In a statement early Thursday, KFOR and the United Nations said they Â"strongly condemn this brutal attack on the humanitarian convoy of civilians. KFOR will make all the efforts to bring those responsible to justice.Â"

The attack on the convoy occurred Wednesday as German and Dutch peacekeepers were escorting several dozen Serbs to the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, a U.N> official said.

The trouble began after the convoy split in two while passing through Pec, Kosovo's third-largest city and scene of some of the most brutal attacks against ethnic Albanians during Serb forces' 18-month crackdown in the province.

One group headed through the city's outskirts. The other was trying to go through the center when it was mobbed, a NATO spokesman said.

According to witnesses, the ethnic Albanians were apparently provoked when some of the Serbs flashed a three-finger salute -- a symbol of Serb nationalism.

One witness said outraged crowds circled the buses and cars, pulling people into the street.

NATO forces intervened, but not before some vehicles in the convoy were set on fire. Peacekeepers said Thursday that 18 of the 34 Serbs in the convoy were slightly injured and 19 cars were set on fire, including a vehicle of the U.N. refugee agency.

NATO said 34 Serbs were taken to the Italian headquarters of the peacekeeping force, where hundreds of angry ethnic Albanians had gathered and were setting off firecrackers.

Late Wednesday, the peacekeepers said the Serbs were slipped out of the compound and taken to Montenegro under cover of darkness.

Serbs leaving the province have often asked for NATO escorts to protect them from attacks by ethnic Albanians seeking revenge for the brutal Serb crackdown.

The crackdown ended after NATO forces bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days, then took control of Kosovo. Kosovo is located in southern Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia.

By Merita Dhimgjoka
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