UN police retake UN courthouse occupied by Kosovo Serbs

Thousands of Serbs hurling stones and gasoline bombs later surrounded the courthouse in Serb-dominated Kosovska Mitrovica and clashed with riot police and NATO soldiers, who used tear gas and stun grenades to try to keep the rioters away from the building.

At least one U.N. vehicle and one NATO truck were set on fire during the riots, as explosions and gun fire echoed in the city where Serbs set up barricades made of cars and trash canisters. At least 20 Serb demonstrators and four peacekeepers were injured, hospital and Kosovo government sources said. "Most of the civilians suffered injuries from shock bomb, tear gas and explosive devices," said Vladimir Adzic, the head of a local hospital. NATO helicopters hovered above the town divided by the Ibar River between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs. The Serbs turned on an air-raid alarm during the clashes. "The situation is quite tense, but police and NATO are out in force," said Besim Hoti, a spokesman for Kosovo's police in the north of the country.

Polish national police said 22 officers on duty in Kosovo have been injured in clashes with Serbs in the city of Kosovska Mitrovica. National police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said 15 Polish police have been taken to a French-run hospital while the other seven have been taken out of the area. Sokolowski said none of police injures in Monday's clash were life-threatening but he had no other information about the clash in the tense northern Kosovo city.

Kosovo's deputy prime minister defended the peacekeepers action, demanding that they do not end their operation. "We have requested from the first day that U.N. and KFOR establish the rule of law in north Mitrovica and to protect institutions there. It was a just action and the right one," Hajredin Kuqi said. "There can be no compromise when it comes to the rule of law." He said Kosovo's authorities were informed that two U.N. policemen and two NATO peacekeepers were injured in the riots.

This was the most serious clash between Kosovo's peacekeepers and the Serbs since majority-ethnic Albanian Kosovo declared independence a month ago. The Kosovo Serbs took over the U.N. court last Friday. U.N. police said 53 Serb demonstrators who occupied the courthouse were arrested in the action early Monday by about 100 U.N. policemen and NATO troops. Witnesses said about 20 of those who were arrested were later released when the Serb rioters stopped three U.N. vehicles driving them away. "After the special U.N. police burst into the court, they bashed some furniture and handcuffed us," said Milenko Stranic, one of the Serbs who escaped arrest. "They refused to speak to us and impounded our mobile phones."

"The operation was undertaken by U.N. special police units backed by NATO peacekeepers," said Veton Elshani, a spokesman for the U.N. police. "The 53 persons were arrested for the illegal occupation of premises controlled by the U.N. mission here." Elshani said all the arrested would be sent to detention centers around Kosovo to appear before judges.

Serbs have held daily protests in front of the court since Kosovo declared independence. The protesters have been trying to take control of local institutions that have been run by the U.N. since the end of the war in Kosovo in 1999. Crowds have prevented international and ethnic Albanian judges from returning to work at the court. During earlier protests outside the court, U.N. and local staff were forced to evacuate after Serb rioters targeted the building with several small hand grenade explosions.

The Kosovo Serbs have already tried to take control of a stretch of rail line in northern Kosovo, in defiance of Kosovo's government. Hundreds of Serb policemen have handed over their badges and weapons rather than submit to Kosovo authorities.

Predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo has been under U.N. control since 1999, when NATO launched an air war to stop Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. Serbia, which considers the territory its historic and religious heartland, says Kosovo's declaration of independence is illegal under international law.