Kosovo: Serbia calls for urgent UN investigation of border clashes

Belgrade, 29 Sept. (AKI) – The Serbian government on Thursday called for an urgent United Nations investigation of the violent clashes at the Kosovo border that injured seven Serbs and four Nato soldiers on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, ethnic Serbs reinforced barricades in northern Kosovo's divided city of Mitrovica on Thursday and NATO peacekeepers maintained a strong presence as tensions persisted.

“The government of Serbia is determined to overcome the tensions by talks and by respect of international law and the interests of the Serbian population in northern Kosovo,” government spokesman Milivoje Mihajlovic said.

Belgrade has accused Nato's KFOR peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo of firing at “unarmed civilians” and of overstepping its “status-neutral mandate”.

Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic, who is attending the United Nations General Assembly session in New York, said the UN should urgently investigate Tuesday incidents.

“We want to know who ordered the use of fire against civilians,” Jeremic said.

But KFOR blamed Tuesday's incidents on “Serbian extremists,”saying they had hurled stones and home-made explosive devices at its soldiers.

“KFOR categorically rejects false accusations that it used excessive force against unarmed civilians,” the contingent said on Thursday.

“Statements which point to that scenario are irresponsible and misleading because KFOR was not the initiator or the party that intensified conflict,” the statement said.

The UN Security Council discussed the situation in Kosovo late on Wednesday with western powers backing KFOR's action and Russia supporting the Serb position and accusing the contingent of excessive use of force.

Belgrade and Kosovo Serbs oppose Kosovo's independence declared in 2008 and the ethnic Albanian-majority government from extending its rule into Serb areas.

The crisis broke out in July when Kosovo prime minister Hasim Thaci sent police and customs to border crossings of Jarinje and Brnjak amid a Serb trade embargo of Kosovo goods.

Ethnic Serbs, who form the majority of the population in northern Kosovo, responded by setting up roadblocks and one Kosovo policeman was killed in July clashes.

Belgrade and Pristina have been holding talks in Brussels under the auspices of the European Union, but the talks collapsed after Tuesday's clashes.

Serbian media reported that European Union mediator Robert Cooper was due in Belgrade next week in an effort to re-start the dialogue.