Rioters Break Into Belgrade's US Embassy
By SLOBODAN LEKIC,AP
Posted: 2008-02-21 14:04:53
Filed Under: World News
BELGRADE, Serbia (Feb. 21) - Serb rioters broke into the U.S. Embassy Thursday and set fire to an office after a massive protest against Kosovo's independence that drew an estimated 150,000 people.
CNN
People attempt to set an American flag on fire at the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
Masked attackers broke into the building, which has been closed this week, and tried to throw furniture from an office. A blaze broke out inside one of the offices and parts of the facade also caught fire.
Authorities drove armored jeeps down the street and fired tear gas to clear the crowd. The protesters dispersed into side streets where they continued clashing with authorities.
The neighboring Croatian Embassy also was attacked by the same group of protesters.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack strongly urged the Serbian government to protect the U.S. Embassy. He said the U.S. ambassador was at his home and was in contact with U.S. officials.
More than a dozen nations have recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence on Sunday, 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. Russia, China and numerous other nations have also condemned the declaration, saying it sets a precedent that separatist groups around the world will seek to emulate.
Rampage at University
Family and friends gathered at Kishwaukee Community Hospital February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois where victims were taken after a gunman opened fire killing five and wounding 16 others during a geology lecture at the Northern Illinois University campus. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
Family and friends gathered at Kishwaukee Community Hospital February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois where victims were taken after a gunman opened fire killing five and wounding 16 others during a geology lecture at the Northern Illinois University campus. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
Family and friends gathered at Kishwaukee Community Hospital February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois where victims were taken after a gunman opened fire killing five and wounding 16 others during a geology lecture at the Northern Illinois University campus. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
DE KALB, IL - FEBRUARY 14: Police patrol outside Cole Hall following a shooting on the Northern Illinois University campus February 14, 2008 in De Kalb, Illinois. Five people are reported dead including the gunman and 17 other people were left wounded after a young man pulled out a shotgun and began firing inside a lecture hall. This is the fourth shooting at a U.S. school within a week. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
DE KALB, IL - FEBRUARY 14: Police patrol outside Cole Hall following a shooting on the Northern Illinois University campus February 14, 2008 in De Kalb, Illinois. Five people are reported dead including the gunman and 17 other people were left wounded after a young man pulled out a shotgun and began firing inside a lecture hall. This is the fourth shooting at a U.S. school within a week. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A Northern Illinois University student with his belongings leaves campus hours after a deadly shooting that killed four students and injured 14 others when a gunman opened fire on a geology class at Cole Hall on February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
Police officers stand guard in the parking lot outside Cole Hall on the Northern Illinois University campus following a deadly shooting that killed four students and injured 14 others after a gunman opened fire on a geology class at Cole Hall on February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
An armed police officer secures the Northern Illinois University campus following a deadly shooting that killed four students and injured 14 others after a gunman opened fire on a geology class at Cole Hall on February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
An armed police officer secures the Northern Illinois University campus following a deadly shooting that killed four students and injured 14 others after a gunman opened fire on a geology class at Cole Hall on February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
A armed police officer patrols the Northern Illinois University campus following a deadly shooting that killed four students and injured 14 others after a gunman opened fire on a geology class at Cole Hall on February 14, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois. A black-clad gunman turned a university lecture into a Valentine's Day massacre, killing four people before turning the gun on himself in the latest episode of US school violence, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Amanda Rivkin (Photo credit should read Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)
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 — and Kosovo's Serbs, who make up less than 10 percent of Kosovo's population — refuse to give up Kosovo, a territory considered the ancient cradle of Serbs' state and religion.
Earlier Thursday, police estimated that about 150,000 people had attended a rally in the Serbian capital. The crowd waved Serbian flags and carried signs reading "Stop USA terror." One group set fire to a red-and-black Albanian flag. |
