KOSOVO: At least three Kosovo Serbs and a NATO soldier are wounded in a gunfight as peacekeepers try to dismantle Serb roadblocks blocking traffic in Zvecan

Record ID: 375582

  • Title: KOSOVO: At least three Kosovo Serbs and a NATO soldier are wounded in a gunfight as peacekeepers try to dismantle Serb roadblocks blocking traffic in Zvecan
  • Date: 2nd June 2012
  • Summary: ZVECAN, KOSOVO (JUNE 01, 2012) (REUTERS) KFOR ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER ON BRIDGE KFOR SOLDIERS ON APC KFOR SOLDIERS STANDING NEXT TO VEHICLE KFOR APC ON BRIDGE KFOR SOLDIERS ON APC KFOR SOLDIERS HOLDING SHIELD KFOR SOLDIERS ON APC/STONES HITTING THEM KFOR SOLDIERS ON APC HOLDING SHIELDS PEOPLE STANDING BEHIND AMBULANCE PEOPLE RUNNING AWAY KFOR SOLDIERS ON APC
  • Embargoed: 17th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kosovo
  • Country: Kosovo
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5PBEPKCSL36PPK3U4SO34YTX7
  • Story Text: At least three Kosovo Serbs and a NATO soldier were wounded in a gunfight on Friday (June 1) , as peacekeepers tried to dismantle Serb roadblocks blocking traffic near the town of Zvecan, about 60 km (40 miles) from the capital Kosovo, Pristina, a Reuters witness said.
    NATO troops in the Kosovo Force (KFOR) fired tear gas and small arms and some protesters fired back with handguns.
    The troops, in armoured personnel carriers, were confronted by hundreds of Serbs who pelted them with stones near barricades in the villages of Rudare and Dudin Krs outside the town of Zvecan in a Serb-dominated northern area of Kosovo.
    The roadblocks are among the last on major roads yet to be dismantled by KFOR. They were erected as part of a long-running Serb campaign to prevent the government of Albanian-majority independent Kosovo from imposing its rule in the area.
    One KFOR soldier who was wounded has been evacuated and is in a stable condition, NATO spokesman in Kosovo Uwe Nowitzki said.
    He said the operation to remove the roadblocks was continuing.
    A Reuters witness said KFOR troops from Germany and the United States received reinforcements after initial clashes and were deployed on hills overlooking Rudare. Several NATO helicopters were also flying over the area.
    Dragisa Milovic, the mayor of Zvecan asked Serbs to withdraw to restore calm.
    "I beg you not to react - that's what they (KFOR) want - to put the blame on us. They did this in order to remove the barricade at "Dudin krs", let them remove the barricade, but no one should be hurt, people, let's not get hurt," he said.
    Health authorities in the Serb-controlled north of the city of Mitrovica said three Serbs were hospitalised while others were released after treatment for slight injuries.
    Kosovo Serbs set up barricades at boundary crossings with neighbouring Serbia last year, after authorities in Pristina and the European Union's police and judiciary mission EULEX attempted to establish their presence there.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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