BELGRADE, Serbia - A handful of protesters broke into the U.S. embassy in Belgrade on Thursday, cheered on by crowds outside, in a protest at U.S. support for Kosovo's independence.
Smoke was seen billowing from the building.
The embassy had been closed in anticipation of the demonstration. A spokesman for the State Department said there are no reports of any injuries to Americans, and only security personnel were present. Police were not protecting the building.
he attack came four days after Kosovo declared its independence. The United States recognized the new nation the next day.
There has been unrest in Kosovo since the independence declaration. Hundreds of Serbs have launched attacks on border outposts, prompting NATO to reinforce the northern Serb-dominated part of Kosovo and take control of the borders.
The violence has sparked fears of sustained violence, with Serbian officials saying the attacks were in line with its attempt to contest Kosovo's secession.
Ethnic Albanian separatists fought a 1998-99 war with Serbian forces, and an estimated 10,000 people were killed.
In areas of Kosovo where Serbs live surrounded by majority ethnic Albanians, Serb leaders urged Serbia's government to tone down statements or risk endangering lives.
"Serbs from the north have brought other Serbs in Kosovo in a position to fear for their children and their lives, which is a very painful feeling — the fear of what your own people might do," Kosovo Serb leader Rada Trajkovic was quoted Thursday as saying by the independent Serbian news agency FoNet.
This breaking news story will be updated. |