"I was witness to how Kosovo and Metohija was transformed from a society based on law and order into a land of anarchy and violence. My Greek, Polish, Ukraine, Lithuanian, Armenian and U.S. soldiers understand that the violence resulted from a criminal group that wants to turn Kosovo into chaos. This minority tried to take the future of Kosovo and Metohija into its own hands and destroy it!" says U.S. general Rick Erlandson, the commander of Multinational Brigade East (and, of course, the U.S. base Bondsteel).
The Albanian terrorists, some 500 of them, threw bombs and bottles of benzene at KFOR tanks from Bondsteel in Urosevac on March 17. The attack continued even after the Greek commander, with the intent of dispersing the terrorists, ordered his soldiers to fire warning shots in the air.
The attackers did not withdraw; on the contrary, their numbers only increased - to 3,000. The situation became critical. Flaming devices were thrown at KFOR vehicles, the last obstruction to the fleeing Serbs... That's how the situation remained until the arrival of U.S.
In the clashes a soldier from the 525th Greek mechanized airborne battalion sustained second degree burns to the face and neck as he defended an observation post near the church of the Holy Emperor Uros in Urosevac, where the fleeing Serbs sought sanctuary. One U.S. soldier and 16 Greek soldiers were wounded by explosive devices thrown at them by the Albanians.