Rockets rain down in Kosovo

2000-02-17

The K-For-imposed curfew in the divided Kosovan town of Mitrovica was shattered just after it began, when three rockets fell in the north and south-east of the city Wednesday night.
Nobody was killed or hurt in the attacks, which come just 72 hours after intense fighting between Nato's peacekeeping force and snipers.
Italian members of K-For stationed in Mitrovica are being rotated out, and are being replaced by a German contingent which will join the French and British troops in the city.
But despite reinforcements and frequent shows of resolve, the situation appears very tense.
K-For has been criticised by the former ethnic Albanian guerrilla and now political party leader, Hashim Thaqi, who says the onus is on Nato to solve the problems of Mitrovica's division into Serb and Albanian districts.
For the German K-For commander, the emphasis is on day-to-day security, and for his men, guarding the bridges that separate the city's two communities is a dangerous job.
They are in range of snipers, and an observation post abandoned by the Italians is now open for less peaceful uses.
Traffic controls and body searches have multiplied, but K-For at its present strength can only just control the volitile situation, and cannot make much headway on more pro-active parts of its policy to rebuild the shattered province.
For this, K-For and Kosovo need more support from Nato member states both in terms of manpower and money.
This point is not lost on Carl Bildt, the UN's Balkan envoy who is in Sarajevo for the EU-sponsored Balkans Stability Pact conference.
He has launched a call for more determination from Nato in Kosovo, and for a stronger political initiative to bring the Serb and Albanian communities together.
The West, he said, knew what it was getting into in Kosovo, and must support Nato more and push for co-operation from the Albanians and Serbs in joint institutions.