Violence Sparked By Kosovo's Split

Updated:20:56, Sunday February 17, 2008

An explosion has rocked a UN building in northern Kosovo, just hours after leaders in the capital Pristina proclaimed Kosovo's independence.

Violence in BelgradeThe blast, apparently caused by a hurled hand grenade, caused damage but no injuries, while another unexploded hand grenade was discovered near a hotel that houses EU officials.

Meanwhile, hundreds of ultra-nationalist Serbians rallied outside the US Embassy in Belgrade, prompting the EU to call for calm.

Kosovo declared itself as a new, independent nation at an extraordinary parliamentary session on Sunday - sparking a furious response from Serbia.

While Serb leaders rejected Kosovo's "unilateral and illegal" declaration of independence, Russia's foreign ministry called for an emergency UN meeting.

The ministry claimed Kosovo's independence violated Serbia's sovereignty and threatened "the escalation of tension and ethnic violence in the region, a new conflict in the Balkans".

It also warned other nations against "supporting separatism" by recognizing Kosovo.

Meanwhile, thousands of Kosovo's majority Albanian population took to the streets to celebrate their independence.

In the capital Pristina, cavalcades of cars circled with horns blaring and supporters holding Albanian flags aloft.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said: "From today onwards, Kosovo is proud, independent and free.

Crowds celebrate in Pristina"We never lost faith in the dream that one day we would stand among the free nations of the world, and today we do."

Parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi told the assembly: "Kosovo is turning a new page in its history."

The declaration of independence will be backed by most Western powers.

Ten years ago this week, Serb forces fought an Albanian guerrilla uprising, killing civilians who got in the way.

Determined to end a decade of humiliation from Belgrade under the late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, the Albanians fought on until the West bombed Serbia into submission in 1999.

Kosovo has been run by the UN since Serb forces withdrew in June that year.

Promised recognition by the US and major EU powers, Kosovo's 88% Albanian majority can now ignore Serb warnings.

The EU will deploy a mission of some 2,000 starting next month to take over from the UN. A Nato-led peace force of 16,000 troops will stay on.

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