Posted on 02/21/2008 11:04:42 AM PST by 11th_VA
BELGRADE, Serbia - 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.
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.
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.
The U.S. embassy in Belgrade burns after masked attackers broke into the building and set an office on fire at the end of a massive protest against Western-backed Kosovo independence, in the Serbian capital, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. More than 150,000 Serbs gathered at the rally vowing to retake the territory which is viewed as Serbia's religious and national heartland. (AP Photo)
You are the Muzzie’s advocate.
I see this as Muslimes acting like they always do. They
will not live in peace with any neighbor anywhere for
very long. I believe I read that muslimes there were
at 10%.
The Serbs stood up to the Nazi’s and paid dearly.
Clinton bombed Serbia to cover up the Lewinsky scandal. Watch the movie "Wag the Dog".
The embassy grounds are soverign US territory. The fact that nobody was injured (purely because the rioters failed in part of their objective) is irrelevant — this is every bit as much an act of war as 9-11 or Pearl Harbor.
Actually, the Wahhabists are the allies of the people the Serbs are fighting.
Which begs the question, why do you side with Al-Qaeda in this conflict?
It is, but it's in response to our own acts of war against them.
We formally recognized a portion of their country that has rebelled. This coming many years after we interfered in their civil war under what ended up being mostly false pretenses.
This could reasonable be consider an act of war. However, we started this, and their actions are far more justified than ours.
Get you nose out of Bill's behind. He set Kosovo up so that the next President would be left holding the bag!
The truth is that they both are a POS on this!
Don’t mind the Albanian lobby boy Johnny here. It’s nice to see that the Albanian shills even come here.
It isn’t Kosov*a*, punk, but Kosov*o*, as the rightful owners call it.
Both Overpowering lefties.
And both play hardball :)
Look for yourself.
I’m not going to waste my time doing your homework.
If you want to know go look, it has more value.
Okay, that was what I was looking for, do you have a link. I can never find that info.
More Clinton legacy.
Lets have the numbers with links and from both sides.
Kosovo is Serbia’s holy land. Al Queda has looted and burned thousands of Orthodox churches in Kosovo with the help of Kosovar Muslims, who have shown no gratitude to the US or NATO for their new found gains. Nuns have been raped; it’s a disaster. We were on the wrong side in that war, even though Milosevich was a tyrant and needed to be deposed. The Serbs are not and were not our enemies!
I think you have a agenda if you are defending the Serbs after what they did in Bosnia... And your argument is the same the liberals make for Afghanistan and Iraq... And I have no clue what you mean by Kosova. Have you seen the picture of a bunny with a pancake on its head?
Don't forget to give credit to el presidente Bush and Condoleeeeeza Rice.
And Bush just walked right into the trap, is that what you're saying? Doesn't speak well of him then, does it?
Naw he’s just an Albanian. His use of Kosov*a* gives him away.
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