latest incidents
Two British tourists shot at in western Kosovo; no injuries
Security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident, said the tourists' vehicle bore registration plates from Serbia's capital, Belgrade.
Associated Press
Thursday, June 15, 2006 12:54 PM
PRISTINA, Serbia-Two British tourists were shot at Thursday in western Kosovo, officials said. No one was injured.
The shooting occurred near the western village of Babaloc, an ethnic Albanian area, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the province's capital, Pristina, Kosovo police spokesman Veton Elshani said.
The circumstances of the shooting were not immediately clear. Security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident, said the tourists' vehicle bore registration plates from Serbia's capital, Belgrade.
A statement by the British mission in Kosovo said that the British nationals were "victims of a shooting incident in western Kosovo" and both escaped unharmed, but their car was damaged.
David Blunt, the top British diplomat in Kosovo, condemned the attack and called on witnesses to inform the police.
"I strongly condemn this attack on two innocent British tourists," Blunt said. "We must bring to justice people who, with such acts of violence, threaten Kosovo's future as a tolerant, modern European society."
Kosovo, a province of Serbia, has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when a NATO bombing campaign forced Serb forces to relinquish control.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority want the province to become independent, while the Serbian minority wants it to remain within Serbia.
Separately, a device believed to be a hand grenade was thrown at two vehicles belonging to the province's U.N.-run customs service in northern Kosovo. The explosion damaged the vehicles, which were not occupied, U.N. police spokesman Larry Miller said.
Brits Traveling In Car With Belgrade Plates Shot At
Gracanica, (Tanjug, June 15)
Two British tourists were slightly injured on Thursday, when they were fired at on the road between Djakovica and Decani, the Caglavica-based KiM Radio reported. The Brits were traveling through Metohija (Western part of Kosovo) in a rented car with Belgrade license plates. In the vicinity of the village of Junik, near Djakovica, they entered a group of cars which was actually a wedding procession. When the Belgrade license plates were seen by the people from the wedding procession, they opened fire and fully demolished the cars.
Veton Eljshani, spokesperson of Kosovo Police Service, confirmed the incident.
David Blunt, the head of the British office in Pristina condemned the attack.
Leposavic Terminates Relations With Kosovo Government
Leposavic, 13 Jun (RTS) The representatives at the Leposavic municipal assembly proclaimed the introduction of special measures on the territory of this municipality in Northern Kosovo and terminated all relations with the Kosovo interim institutions.
After Zvecan and Zubin Potok, this is the third municipality in Northern Kosovo that decided to terminate its contact with the Kosovo government, due to the alarming deteriorating of the safety situation in this part of the province, announced the Coordination Center international press service.
At the top of the decision for the Serbs to refuse to accept any pay from the Kosovo institutions, the representatives at Leposavic municipal assembly also adopted the general proposal to self-organize protection, which was presented at last weeks protest meeting in Zvecan.
This means ending the trust to the Kosovo police service regional units, since they are mostly Albanian, and introducing a closer cooperation with the local KPS units, which consist mostly of Serbs.
The self-defense program will include members of the civilian protection and an ex-member of the Serbian interior ministry from this region. One of the Leposavic requests is to respect the UN Resolution 1244, which includes the return of the Serbian army and police to Kosovo and Metohija, and a greater responsible role for UNMIK and KFOR.
It is also mentioned that if the previously mentioned suggestions are not implemented, then the Leposavic municipal assembly is ready to take part in the hiring and financing of 999 Serbian policemen.
Serbs in Zvecan Municipality Organize Watches
Kosovska Mitrovica, 13 Jun (BETA) - Following the advice issued last week by an emergency situation committee in the Zvecan municipality, local Serbs have been organizing constant watches at potential hot spots, the Information Service of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija said on June 12th.
"Frequent attacks on Serbs and their property, from robberies to murders, have forced us to take action ourselves, which the residents of all municipalities of northern Kosovo agreed to do at the recent protest rally in Zvecan and the committee was put into action," said Dragisa Milovic, president of the Zvecan municipality.
He added that the Civil Defense personnel and former police officers cooperating with the Kosovo Police Service had established permanent watches at every spot where the attacks have already occurred, stressing that "not a single incident has been registered since."
