Two U.N. vehicles set ablaze in Kosovo
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - April 10, 2005, Sunday

Pristina - United Nations officials in Kosovo Sunday said that two U.N. vehicles had been set ablaze in separate incidents in the internationally-administered province.

The exact circumstances or location of the incidents were not revealed.

They come however just three days before a visit by representatives of the influential six-nation Contact Group to Belgrade and Pristina and are the latest in a series of attacks on U.N. property over the past two months.

The Contact Group, which consists of United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, has been one of the most significant international players in the Balkan region over the past decade.

The upcoming visit is seen as the first international evaluation of the ongoing process of the implementation of democratic standards in Kosovo.

Kosovo's government has urged the Contact Group to adopt a clear stance on the province's final status following Wednesday's visit, saying that dissatisfaction among the Albanian majority with the current political limbo may spark fresh violence.

The U.N. administration, strongly supported by the European Union and NATO, created a set of standards on human rights, freedom of movement, return of refugees and other minority-related rights, which Kosovo has to meet by mid-2005 in order to open the way for negotiations on its final status.

Kosovo has been run by a U.N. administration (UNMIK) since 1999. The status of the province remains unresolved, with Albanians wanting nothing less than full independence and Serbs hoping to preserve at least ceremonial control over the region.

15:22:53 Central European Time; April 10, 2005

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