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Nato troops in major search of Kosovo flashpoint

PRISTINA: Hundreds of Nato-led troops from many nations conducted a major search for weapons and criminals in the volatile Kosovo city of Mitrovica on Sunday, a spokesman for the KFOR peacekeeping force said.

The ethnically divided city has been the scene of several eruptions of armed political violence this month which have left at least nine people dead and more than 20 wounded, including two French soldiers shot in gunbattles a week ago.

Soldiers had fanned out across the city and the search operation would continue until the peacekeepers' commander, German General Klaus Reinhardt, was satisfied "all threats to law and order have been crushed", KFOR said.

"It's in everyone's best interests to rid the city of illegal and dangerous weapons and to detain troublemakers," said the spokesman, British Warrant Officer Mark Cox.

Troops from countries including France, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, the United States, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Turkey were all involved in the operation.

Residents of the industrial city were advised via radio messages, loudspeakers and leaflets that the search was taking place and urged not to interfere, the spokesman said.

Recent violence in Mitrovica has presented KFOR and Kosovo's United Nations-led administration with one of the most serious threats to their mission to bring security, law and order and democracy to the Yugoslav province.

KFOR and the U.N. moved into Kosovo last June after Serb forces were driven out by NATO bombing to end repression of the province's ethnic Albanian majority.

Serbs have grouped together in the north of Mitrovica to form a majority there. They say they have done so purely for their own protection, many having fled the Albanian revenge attacks which have plagued postwar Kosovo.

The Serbs' action has angered the many Albanians who cannot return to their homes in northern Mitrovica.

KFOR troops, mainly French, and the U.N. have been charged with trying to keep the peace between the communities and with trying to resolve the problem of the city's division.

"KFOR, the United Nations and the majority of Kosovo citizens are determined that Mitrovica will be a united city and that Kosovo will be a place where people of different ethnic backgrounds live in peace and mutual respect," Cox said.

He said other measures KFOR had also imposed to establish law and order in the city, such as checkpoints, a night curfew, and helicopter patrols, would remain in force.-Reuters