Nato 'won't tolerate Kosovo violence'

Nato’s secretary-general today warned the alliance will not tolerate violence in Kosovo just days after clashes between police and ethnic Albanians left two dead.

Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the 16,000-strong peacekeeping force in Kosovo, known as KFOR, stood prepared for developments in Kosovo and issued a stark warning to radicals against using violence.

“KFOR will not tolerate any form of violence,” he said.

His visit to Kosovo follows the deaths of two protesters at a weekend demonstration by ethnic Albanians, who broke through a security cordon and tried to march towards a government building in the provincial capital, Pristina, protesting that the UN plan failed to give Kosovo outright independence.

UN riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas. Two ethnic Albanian men were killed by rubber bullet wounds to the head, while another two were seriously injured. Dozens were treated for tear gas.

De Hoop Scheffer met key ethnic Albanian leaders, UN officials and the Nato commander in Kosovo.