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Belgrade's US Embassy set on fire
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
BELGRADE, Serbia - Serb rioters broke into the U.S. Embassy and set
fire to an office Thursday, and police clashed with protesters outside
after a large demonstration against Kosovo's declaration of
independence.
The embassy said a charred body was found in the embassy after the
attack. "It was found at the part of the building set on fire by the
protesters," embassy spokeswoman Rian Harris said. She said all
embassy staffers were accounted for; Belgrade's Pink TV said the body
appeared to be that of a rioter.
Masked attackers broke into the U.S. compound, which was closed at the
time, just after 7 p.m. and tried to throw furniture from an office.
They set fire to the office and flames shot up the side of the
building.
It took police about 45 minutes to appear at the scene, and
firefighters arrived about the same time and put out the blaze. Police
secured the U.S. Embassy and surrounding area, blocking off all
access.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, said he
was "outraged" by the attack and would ask the U.N. Security Council
to issue a unanimous statement "expressing the council's outrage,
condemning the attack, and also reminding the Serb government of its
responsibility to protect diplomatic facilities."
Serbia's President Boris Tadic, on an official visit to Romania,
appealed for calm and urged the protesters to stop the attacks and
move away from the streets. Tadic said that violence was "damaging"
Serbia's efforts to defend Kosovo, which declared its independence
from Belgrade on Sunday.
More than a dozen nations have recognized Kosovo's declaration of
independence, including the United States, Britain, France and
Germany. But the declaration by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership
has been rejected by Serbia's government and the ethnic Serbians who
populate northern Kosovo.
For several days, Kosovo's Serbs have shown their anger by destroying
U.N. and NATO property, setting off small bombs and staging noisy
rallies.
On Thursday, the neighboring Croatian Embassy also was targeted by the
same group of protesters at the U.S. Embassy, and smaller groups
attacked police posts outside the Turkish and British embassies in
another part of the city but were beaten back.
Elite police paramilitaries drove armored jeeps down the street
outside the U.S. Embassy and fired dozens of tear gas canisters to
clear crowds. The protesters fled into side streets where they
continued clashing with the police.
Groups also broke into a McDonald's restaurant and demolished the
interior. A number of other shops were also ransacked and people were
seen carrying off running shoes, track suits and other sporting goods
from a department store.
Doctors at Belgrade's emergency clinic reported treating more than 30
injured, half of whom were policemen. All were lightly injured, said
Dusan Jovanovic, deputy chief of the clinic, adding that most of the
injured protesters were "extremely drunk."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S.
ambassador to Serbia was at his home and in contact with U.S.
officials. Security officials and Marine guards were in a different
part of the compound, but nobody was inside the embassy building, he
said.
"We want to strongly urge them, and we are in contact with them, to
make sure that they devote the assets to deal with this situation,"
McCormack told reporters, referring to the Serbian government.
Serbia has "a responsibility now to devote the adequate resources to
ensure that that facility is protected," he said.
Kosovo, which is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has not been under
Belgrade's control since 1999, when NATO launched airstrikes to halt a
Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. A U.N. mission has
governed Kosovo since, with more than 16,000 NATO troops and KFOR, a
multiethnic force, policing the province.
But Serbia
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
BELGRADE, Serbia - Serb rioters broke into the U.S. Embassy and set
fire to an office Thursday, and police clashed with protesters outside
after a large demonstration against Kosovo's declaration of
independence.
The embassy said a charred body was found in the embassy after the
attack. "It was found at the part of the building set on fire by the
protesters," embassy spokeswoman Rian Harris said. She said all
embassy staffers were accounted for; Belgrade's Pink TV said the body
appeared to be that of a rioter.
Masked attackers broke into the U.S. compound, which was closed at the
time, just after 7 p.m. and tried to throw furniture from an office.
They set fire to the office and flames shot up the side of the
building.
It took police about 45 minutes to appear at the scene, and
firefighters arrived about the same time and put out the blaze. Police
secured the U.S. Embassy and surrounding area, blocking off all
access.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, said he
was "outraged" by the attack and would ask the U.N. Security Council
to issue a unanimous statement "expressing the council's outrage,
condemning the attack, and also reminding the Serb government of its
responsibility to protect diplomatic facilities."
Serbia's President Boris Tadic, on an official visit to Romania,
appealed for calm and urged the protesters to stop the attacks and
move away from the streets. Tadic said that violence was "damaging"
Serbia's efforts to defend Kosovo, which declared its independence
from Belgrade on Sunday.
More than a dozen nations have recognized Kosovo's declaration of
independence, including the United States, Britain, France and
Germany. But the declaration by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership
has been rejected by Serbia's government and the ethnic Serbians who
populate northern Kosovo.
For several days, Kosovo's Serbs have shown their anger by destroying
U.N. and NATO property, setting off small bombs and staging noisy
rallies.
On Thursday, the neighboring Croatian Embassy also was targeted by the
same group of protesters at the U.S. Embassy, and smaller groups
attacked police posts outside the Turkish and British embassies in
another part of the city but were beaten back.
Elite police paramilitaries drove armored jeeps down the street
outside the U.S. Embassy and fired dozens of tear gas canisters to
clear crowds. The protesters fled into side streets where they
continued clashing with the police.
Groups also broke into a McDonald's restaurant and demolished the
interior. A number of other shops were also ransacked and people were
seen carrying off running shoes, track suits and other sporting goods
from a department store.
Doctors at Belgrade's emergency clinic reported treating more than 30
injured, half of whom were policemen. All were lightly injured, said
Dusan Jovanovic, deputy chief of the clinic, adding that most of the
injured protesters were "extremely drunk."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S.
ambassador to Serbia was at his home and in contact with U.S.
officials. Security officials and Marine guards were in a different
part of the compound, but nobody was inside the embassy building, he
said.
"We want to strongly urge them, and we are in contact with them, to
make sure that they devote the assets to deal with this situation,"
McCormack told reporters, referring to the Serbian government.
Serbia has "a responsibility now to devote the adequate resources to
ensure that that facility is protected," he said.
Kosovo, which is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has not been under
Belgrade's control since 1999, when NATO launched airstrikes to halt a
Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. A U.N. mission has
governed Kosovo since, with more than 16,000 NATO troops and KFOR, a
multiethnic force, policing the province.
But Serbia
