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6 Dead, Hundreds Wounded in Serbia Clash
Serbs and ethnic Albanians traded heavy gunfire Wednesday across the Ibar River, killing at least six people and wounding almost 300 in the worst outbreak of violence in this ethnically divided city since a bus bombing three years ago. The killings, a setback to the international struggle to ease tension in Kosovo, were provoked by reports that two ethnic Albanian boys drowned after they jumped in an icy river to escape angry Serbs. A third was missing. Initial reports by U.N. police spokeswoman Angela Joseph that a French peacekeeper had died of gunshot wounds were later denied by NATO and the French military. Lt. Col. Jim Moran, a NATO spokesman, said a French and a Danish soldier were "seriously wounded," but reports that a peacekeeper had died were "completely not true." NATO spokesman Capt. Athanasios Zormbas said 11 peacekeeping soldiers were wounded by stones and shrapnel from a hand grenade. Wednesdayâs fighting was the worst of its kind since February 2001, when ethnic Albanian terrorists blew up a bus carrying Serbs, killing 11 and injuring 40. Clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians were also reported in several other towns in the region. Posted by: Fred 2004-03-17 |
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