SERBS STORM UN COURTHOUSE WITH HAND GRENADE EXPLOSIONS

Hundreds of Serbs stormed a United Nations courthouse in northern Kosovo on Friday, pushing aside UN riot police guarding the building and taking control of the site. A spokesman for Kosovo’s police said the Kosovo Serbs broke through two entrance gates and then replaced the UN flag with a Serbian one. "The regional UN representative is negotiating with Serb leaders to overcome the situation," said Besim Hoti, spokesman for Kosovo’s police in the Serb-dominated city of Kosovska Mitrovica, where the court is located. The Serbs have held daily protests in front of the court since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia last month. Dozens of UN riot police did not intervene when the protesters forced their way in on Friday. During earlier protests outside the court, UN and local staff were forced to evacuate after Serbs rioters targeted the building with several small hand grenade explosions. The storming of the UN courthouse appeared to have been coordinated with Belgrade, which has defied Kosovo’s declared statehood by saying it will assume authority in northern Kosovo, the Associated Press repots. Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority proclaimed independence from Serbia on February 17, a move that has been recognized by more than 25 countries, including major Western powers like the U.S., U.K., France and Germany. Russia, Spain and some other states oppose independence of the breakaway province.

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