MITROVICA: At least 16 Kosovo Serbs and four NATO troops were injured in clashes at a disputed Kosovo-Serbian border crossing on Tuesday, NATO officials and local authorities said.
Witnesses said troops from the NATO peacekeeping force KFOR fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd rallying against the removal of a Serb-held barricade on a small road about 150 meters (yards) from the Jarinje border post.
NATO spokesman Kai Gudenoge said four peacekeepers were hurt after improvised bombs were thrown at their position near Jarinje.
"Four solders were injured in explosions of pipe bombs.
Three have minor injuries, while the fourth, who has serious injuries, will be evacuated," Gudenoge said.
NATO said its forces had responded in self-defence with rubber bullets after Kosovo Serbs pelted them with stones and fired at the border checkpoint 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Pristina.
Milan Jakovljevic, the head of the hospital in the Serb, northern part of Mitrovica, a tense city divided into Albanian and Serb districts, said six patients had serious gunshot wounds and not injuries caused by rubber bullets.
Jakovljevic also said about ten other protesters from Jarinje sought medical attention for minor injuries.
The clashes in Jarinje prompted Belgrade to cancel talks with Pristina in Brussels under EU auspices aimed at mending daily ties such as flow of people and goods, property rights and personal documents.
"The talks will not resume until we see what will happen at the two border crossings. We need to resolve that situation in talks with the international community," Borislav Stefanovic, Serbia's chief negotiator said in a TV broadcast. "There are no other issues for us but this one," he said.
The Pristina government wants to reinstate its presence in the largely lawless northern area which pledges its allegiance to Belgrade, three years after Kosovo which has an Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia.
Serbia, which opposes Kosovo's independence, has warned that taking over the contested posts could lead to more clashes.
In a statement on Tuesday, Serbia's President Boris Tadic called on Kosovo Serbs to remain calm and urged KFOR to show restraint.
"International peacekeepers are there to defend unarmed people, not to clash with them," Tadic said. "No problem can be solved through violence and jeopardising lives will not contribute to the defence of our (national) interests."
In northern Mitrovica, angry Serbs damaged two police vehicles. NATO and police brought reinforcements to the southern, Albanian part of the city, a Reuters eyewitness said.
In Pristina, Kosovo deputy prime minister Hajredin Kuci said authorities will maintain efforts to unblock roads in Kosovo's north. "We will face criminal structures and always protect citizens," he said.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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