More violence in Kosovo | 11:11 May 26 | Beta PRIZREN -- Several people were injured yesterday in an incident occurring between Albanians and UNMIK in the village of Mala Kruša.
In the village, located near Prizren, a group of Albanian women, whose husbands and children were killed in 1999, threw stones at a convoy which they thought was transporting Serbian refugees. The police and KFOR officials tried to calm the conflict by using tear gas. Ten of the Albanian women were taken to the hospital in Prizren because of tear gas poisoning.
According to UNMIK, in a statement release six hours after the incident, about ten people from the village blocked the road in front of the UNMIK police convoy. When the UNMIK officials tried to get the villagers to move, they were attacked with stones and rocks. UNMIK was accompanying two Serbian lawyers working on Hague Tribunal cases, not Serbian refugees as the attackers thought.
Three police officers and one translator were injured in the attack, and several more villagers were hurt while UNMIK was trying to clear the premises. All injured citizens were given first aid and medical treatment, according to UNMIK. UNMIK police commissioner Kai Vitrup said that an investigation is on-going and that UNMIK officials will be talking to villagers regarding the incident.
According to Albanian sources, over 50 villagers, mostly women and children were injured. Village elder Agron Limani told Priština reporters that the villagers thought that the convoy contained Serbian villagers who were entering the region to visit their homelands and cemeteries, which caused the violent reaction of the locals.
“The police used force and tear gas against the people. Many women and children were injured and a number of them were taken to the Prizren hospital.” Limani said.
On the first day of the NATO bombing of Serbia, March 25, 1999, Serbian forces entered Mala and Velika Kruša and killed more than 100 Albanian men.
[B92]
