NOTE: THIS IS ONLY A  selection of comments regarding UNMIK Police duties from UNMIK AND KFOR  Press Briefing (NOT THE WHOLE SUMMARY)

In Mitrovica yesterday, as everyone knows, there was a very ugly and chaotic afternoon which Philip Anido will describe in detail. We are ourselves awaiting further analyses from UNMIK Police. Basically, following a brawl between a Serb and an Albanian on the northern side, there followed some two hours of grenades and gunfights, resulting in the injuries of some 17 Kosovo Serbs--at least one critically--five Kosovo Albanians and at least 15 KFOR soldiers. None have life-threatening injuries. After things seemed to have quieted down, an RPG was fired into one of the three apartments to which we had assisted returns of some Kosovo Albanians on Friday.

UNMIK Police are now checking all the apartments in the three blocks to which Albanians returned to ensure that they are content with staying there. We are not encouraging further returns at this moment.

From other parts of Kosovo, UNMIK police report a disturbance in Obilic where some 200 Albanians celebrating a recent commemoration were advancing on a Serb-owned bar and breaking windows all along their way, but were stopped by UNMIK police and KFOR. Earlier that day at the train station, a fight broke out between Albanians and Serbs. Grenade and arson attacks have also continued against minority-owned property around Kosovo.

It should be noted, however, that the celebrations of the Jashari family memorial, which involved hundreds of thousands of people in gatherings around Kosovo, went very peacefully and respectfully.

The violence that erupted around noon yesterday in Mitrovica just north of the Eastern Bridge, resulted in injuries to 22 Serbs and Albanians and 16 KFOR peacekeepers. The trouble began as a heated argument between two men and grew into a major street fight between Serbs and Albanians involving hand grenades and gunfire.

KFOR French, Danish, Swedish and German soldiers rapidly intervened and brought the melee under control. Their quick and firm reaction prevented the riot from spreading. Eight KFOR soldiers are still under observation for minor injuries, which resulted from shrapnel and debris thrown up by the grenades. Four men have been arrested in connection with the incident and other arrests may follow.

General Dr. Klaus Reinhardt, Commander of KFOR, said yesterday that "the anger between two men in Mitrovica yesterday could happen in any city in the world. However, the ease which the crowd resorted to violence using hand grenades and guns must be condemned by all leaders and citizens. Some individuals chose to throw grenades and shoot directly at the crowd that was being protected by KFOR peacekeepers, with absolute disregard for the lives and safety of civilians and soldiers alike. I will seek the severest sanctions for those found to be involved in this or any future attacks on my soldiers, and I will hold their leaders directly responsible for such actions."

Four of the seven Albanians who were lightly injured, remain in the KFOR Moroccan hospital. They are there just for observation and professional care. Seventeen injured Serbs were evacuated to the civilian hospital in the northern part of the city for treatment. One of them is reported to be in serious condition.

In a related incident, yesterday afternoon at 3:50 p.m. an anti-tank rocket was fired at one of the apartment towers where Albanians, Serbs and Turks live together. There was damage to two flats on the 7th floor, occupied by Serb and Turk families.

General Wesley Clark, the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, made a brief visit to Mitrovica yesterday. He met with his commanders and UNMIK officials. He also met privately with local Serb and Albanian leaders and spoke firmly to them about their role in upholding law and order and maintaining a peaceful environment. Without these conditions, he said, extremists severely hinder the vital and urgent process of rebuilding civic order, administrative structures and confidence among all citizens.

Q: Do you have any information on a Serb man, Dragan Jilekovic, considered to be a sniper? Was he arrested yesterday in Mitrovica? The information given by KFOR and UNMIK Police is not much in accordance. You said that there was a brawl between two men that started the trouble yesterday, but UNMIK Police say that there were two Albanian men who crossed the bridge yesterday from the south to the north and shot two Serbs, and that’s how everything started. What was the exact situation? How many Albanians were evacuated yesterday from the northern side?

SM: Linda, are you reading from a UN Police sitrep? Sitreps come in several times throughout a day. They are never considered to be engraved in stone until analysis is done on them. Normally, in most missions they are not even given to the press. I don’t think it’s really useful to engage KFOR and UNMIK Police in differences.

PA: On the part of KFOR, these reports come in at different times. The brigades need to tally what they pass on to KFOR HQ. I give you every piece of information that I’ve got. UNMIK Police and KFOR are working cooperatively, in the best way we can. We are not trying to be in conflict with each other, if you think that may be the case. I don’t have the information that people involved in the incident came across from the south. I just have it that it started with two men getting into a battle which fell out of control at that time. I think you should wait and get a final statement from the police. As for the Serbian sniper, I have a report on four men being arrested, I don’t have their ethnic identities. They are innocent until proven guilty, they are interrogated and, if they are directly involved, they will go to trial. I don’t have names.

Q: But why have you reported about two Albanian snipers shooting two weeks ago, which was even reported to thew Security Council, and here you keep silent? Why do you use double standards?

PA: I don’t think those are double standards. We haven’t released information on those incidents weeks ago. In fact, it will be up to the civilian authorities to release that. I am not withholding any information from you, I just don’t have the names. We don’t have that information.

Q: Why is your information radically different from that of the UNMIK Police? Is it the joint UNMIK/KFOR position that no one came across the bridge and that was just a local dispute between two people from the northern side?

PA: To be honest, I haven’t seen the report that you are talking about. We can meet afterwards and we’ll put the two and two together. I don’t have any information in the KFOR reports about where those two men came from. I don’t want to speculate on that.

Q: Could you confirm the age of those four arrested in Mitrovica? Were there four or five men arrested?

PA: I don’t have their ages. I give you all the information I have.

Q: How could those two people have come across the bridge if, as you say, there is no chance of a bird flying through? Who exactly started the shouts and fight yesterday? I heard that there were Serbs attacking Albanians. Can you explain that?

PA: As I have just said, I can’t confirm that those men came from across the bridge. I highly doubt that people with weapons could have come across the bridge. All those who come across are checked very rigorously, I’ve seen it myself. And they are required to have business, people cannot cross the bridge without reason. I also think it’s not helpful to say who started that. We had a fight between two people, which will be very rigorously investigated. KFOR was very quick in its reaction to stop it, which is a very good sign of our overall resolve to make sure that people do not spread unrest throughout Mitrovica and Kosovo. I don’t think that you’ll get it in any report, who started it.

Q: Who is then doing the final reports and updates? Who is doing those press releases, a Serb, an Albanian or an international staff? Why there are always mistakes on the Albanian side?

SM: As for that situation report that Linda was quoting, it doesn’t mean that it was the final one, although it was drafted at midnight. It also may mean that the police have seen something that KFOR did not see. It’s a very general question you are asking. And your insinuation about prejudice is without any grounds whatsoever. The sitreps are by internationals for internationals, they are not actually for public consumption. They have no reason to express bias. They are factual reports of an event.

PA: I think it’s unfair, because you are asking us to comment on something that we haven’t seen. But you are not being helpful in saying that the international community is favouring one side over the other. We are equal, egalitarian, all we want to do is to prevent criminals and extremists on either side from inflaming the situation and spoiling Kosovo’s chance to a new future. So if your insinuation carries on to make the international community divided here, I would think very carefully about where you are going with that.

Q: Can you explain what happened to the Finnish soldiers who had been arrested by Serbian police in Serbia? I think it’s very embarrassing.

PA: That’s incorrect. The Finnish soldiers were not arrested by Serbian authorities. There was a chance meeting somewhere near the boundary. It appears that the Finns were slightly on the Serbian side. But it turned out to be a friendly event. The Serbians saw how the Finns were patrolling, what they were doing, and the Finns saw what they Serbians were doing there. The Serbian police did not get any information on the KFOR dispositioning.

Q: Is KFOR and police presence in Mitrovica adequate to maintain security?

PA: We do feel that the presence is adequate. Yesterday proved how quickly and how professionally well KFOR reacts to incidents. We will continue the rotation of international troops to Mitrovica. That happened with six companies two weeks ago when we had the significant problems. Now it’s back down to three companies and may drop down to two. But KFOR will continue to maintain a very strong presence in Mitrovica. We are very robust there. In the days ahead, we are going to take other measures to increase the confidence of the local citizens, so that the implementation of all UNMIK’s and international community’s initiatives could take place in an appropriate environment.