KOSOVO: MITROVICA: NATO'S REINHARDT & UN'S KOUCHNER VISIT

Описание: (15 Mar 2000) English/Nat

NATO's commander in Kosovo, General Klaus Reinhardt, and chief U-N administrator, Bernard Kouchner, arrived in the divided city of Mitrovica on Wednesday.

Their visit coincided with clashes between Serbs and NATO troops taking control of a key bridge in the town on Wednesday morning.

At least 15 Serbs and an undetermined number of peacekeepers and journalists were injured in the clashes.

250 armed French troops and Italian paramilitary police had crossed the bridge over the Ibar River at dawn - intending to set up a security zone in the Little Bosnia district on the Serb- controlled north bank.

This action was to be the first step taken toward uniting this ethnically divided city and reasserting international control.

A crowd of up to 300 Serbs gathered around a security cordon at the north of the bridge.

When French troops prevented a few Serbs from returning to their apartments in the control zone, the crowd surged forward, and troops responded with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades.

NATO's commander in the region, General Klaus Reinhardt and U-N Chief Administrator Bernard Kouchner said operations to reunite the city would continue despite the earlier violence.

SOUNDBITE (English):
"There were two different ideas. We wanted to get those guys called the bridge watchers out. They didn't want to go so we cleared them out because we said that it's our intention that will be installed. Some didn't like it and they demonstrated but that's now over and the bridge watchers are out and it's one step more for future normality."
"Question: Is this going to be the start of more operations tomorrow to take over?
" Well, you never talk while you're doing the operation about what you do in the next stage because this would be foolish but we have quite a lot of other things that we're trying to do."
SUPER CAPTION: General Klaus Reinhardt, NATO Commander in Kosovo

SOUNDBITE: (English)
" You know that we have worked out together with UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) a plan for a united Mitrovica and for an open city of Mitrovica and these are some of the steps that we are going to take."
SUPER CAPTION: General Klaus Reinhardt, NATO Commander in Kosovo

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"You have to understand that the enlargement of this confidence zone has been planned and accepted to avoid confrontations. We are certainly going on and this is a step forward. I'm very sorry for what happened this morning, because a lady was wounded, but the enlargement of the zone to make it a zone of confidence for the people eventually to exchange food and conversation was planned. It was to give confidence to people not for them to stop and fight."
SUPER CAPTION: Bernard Kouchner, Chief U-N administrator

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