Serbs clash with U.N., NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo

The clashes forced lightly armed United Nations police to withdraw from the town in northern Kosovo. NATO forces in armored personnel carriers moved in to restore order, entering under a hail of stones and Molotov cocktails. At one point, personnel from both international organizations were shot at, officials said.

Later, Serbs attacked a U.N. convoy taking away detainees, enabling several to escape, police said.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces were occupying a sliver of northern Mitrovica late in the day amid a tableau of burned U.N. vehicles and debris.

Dozens of people were hurt in today's incidents, the worst violence in Kosovo since the Albanian-dominated province announced its secession from Serbia on Feb. 17. On Feb. 21, Serb rioters in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, torched the U.S. Embassy in similar protests that left one demonstrator dead and nearly 100 people injured.

The United States and several European countries have recognized the new state of Kosovo.

Belgrade today appealed to Russia, its main ally in the Kosovo issue, and Moscow condemned "the dangerous situation" that was unfolding. Serbian President Boris Tadic accused the international forces in Kosovo of "using excessive force" and warned of an "escalation of clashes in the entire territory" of Kosovo.

Mitrovica, a city divided between ethnic Albanians in the south and Serbs in the north, has long been a flash point. Serbs have been protesting daily since the independence declaration, and on Friday they seized control of a U.N. court building.

After a weekend of negotiations in which U.N. officials repeatedly ordered the demonstrators to leave the building, U.N. police began forcibly ejecting the Serbs, among them many women, before dawn today.

That's when the serious fighting started. About 70 Serbs and 40 U.N. or NATO personnel were injured, officials said.

wilkinson@latimes.com

Special correspondent Zogiani reported from Pristina and Times staff writer Wilkinson from Rome.