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Larry Rossin, the deputy U.N. administrator in Kosovo, on March 19 accused Serbian forces of actively destabilizing U.N. efforts to transition Kosovo to independent rule. The chain of incidents in question began March 14 when Serbs took over a U.N.-run court in the northern Kosovar — and Serb-majority — city of Mitrovica. On March 16, several hundred peacekeepers raided the court and arrested 53 people occupying the building. On March 17, Serbian irregulars — some using automatic weapons and grenades — attacked a U.N. convoy transporting the detainees, freeing 21 of them. That in turn triggered a riot and standoff that required regular NATO forces to quell and resulted in dozens of injuries and at least one death.
These clashes highlight the problems facing the forces trying to keep Kosovo in one piece — and those seeking to split it.
Rossin disclosed March 19 that the March 14 incident involved several “Serbian Ministry of Interior officers,” implying that the entire cascade of events was triggered — if not masterminded — by Belgrade. For the United Nations, the European Union and NATO — the institutions with the responsibility of managing Kosovo for the foreseeable future — facing paramilitary opposition from the Serbian government greatly complicates efforts to operationalize Kosovar independence.
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