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| Europe |
| 6 Dead, Hundreds Wounded in Serbia Clash |
| 2004-03-17 |
| 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. Wednesday’s 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 |
| #7 Always thought that had Milosevic kept or reassumed the 'communist' mantle instead of the nationalist one, Kosovo would've been a 15-minute story, briefly regretted and soon forgotten. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-3-17 9:36:53 PM |
| #6 Shipman> I didn't take sides in the Kosovo affair -- I thought that these were two chauvinisms/imperialisms that both tried to nationally cleanse the other. Equally vile. I opposed the bombings and still feel that the bombings and support to UCK ended up leading to further war in FYRO Macedonia, since UCK used Kosovo as a base to launch further terrorist attacks -- not to mention the encouragement to Albanian separatists throughout the region. Ofcourse, it's *possible* that the Serbs would have gone genocidal on the Albanians if the NATO bombings hadn't happened, but that hadn't occurred nor was there any certainty it would have occurred. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-3-17 6:18:23 PM |
| #5 Don't make me go Black & White Sarge :) I'm getting close as it is. Aris which side do you take with these jackasses? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-3-17 6:04:21 PM |
| #4 Actually we went in and bombed them until Serbia said 'uncle'. The Clinton had the UN/NATO/Russian take over and this is what we got out of it. The 'plan' was to separate the sides long enough that they like peace too much to wage war. They forgot that the Serbs were/are being abused by their Muslim-Albanian countryman. I bet there are more than a few ex-taliban wondering around Kosovo. Yes clearly another Clinton foreign policy ‘victory’ that stood the test of time! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-3-17 3:56:37 PM |
| #3 Guess CompuSerb's been a busy little troll today. |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-3-17 2:10:50 PM |
| #2 Okay, this was done the EU way right? Got all the "allies" lined up and agreed, right? No nasty US unilateralism here, right? UN all on board, right? (okay, forget that one) Therefore there is no quagmire and everyone in Kosovo is happy, healthy, well employed and sitting around after makiing friends with their former enemies and singing Kumbya, right? Anyone taken a poll lately as to how the Kosovars and Servians see the results of THEIR invasion? |
| Posted by: Alan 2004-3-17 2:07:27 PM |
| #1 Your UN dues at work. |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-3-17 1:47:14 PM |