Northern Kosovo Explodes

Last Wednesday (20 July), the Kosovo government introduced a reciprocity ban on goods from Serbia as Serbia does not recognize goods with the Kosovo customs stamp.  Kosovo also implemented a 10% tax on goods from Bosnia & Herzegovina who has not yet recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence.  Serbia and B&H have complained to CEFTA and the European Union on the Kosovo ban saying that it is illegal.

Kosovo Police went into the North of Kosovo to begin enforcing the ban on Tuesday (26 July) and one Albanian police officer was fatally shot.  Ethnic Serbs set fire to the border checkpoints after EULEX police surrendered the borders to the mobs prompting harsh criticism of the mission for failure to establish rule of law in the North.  Serbs continue to protest the Kosovo government's actions by blocking the roads and preventing NATO troops from moving around in the North resulting in the use of helicopters to transport police and troops.  However NATO has taken over control of the two border checkpoints and established a military zone with the warning that the troops have authorization to fire upon anyone threatening property or persons.  European Union, EULEX, and US officials have expressed concern that Pristina acted unilaterally and did not consult them before taking action in the North which has been a flashpoint since the end of the war in 1999.

As KFOR has been withdrawing and reducing troop size due to "increased stability/security" in Kosovo recently, one wonders if KFOR will be able to enforce peace in Kosovo as the renewed violence threatens the stability of Kosovo.  Also, as the sparks fly, people are questioning who stands to gain something by the renewed tensions?  Another article explores how the European Union making a historic mistake is to blame for the continued problems in Kosovo.

Another Day in Paradise

It seems that things are back to normal.  At least, according to the local population.  From their actions and mannerism, they act like there weren't street wars going on in the capital city just four nights ago.  Sixteen churches were not burnt down...4000 people were not displaced from their homes...600 people were not injured...nope, just another beautiful spring day.  The women are walking around in their "high" fashion, the men sit in the cafes chatting and chain smoking black-market cigarettes.  Everything is as it was except there are no UN vehicles driving the streets (when it used to be out of every 5 vehicles, 2-3 were UN), the main road in front of the HQ and Police HQ is blocked and closed, we have a 5pm curfew within the compound, and there are heavily armed British patrols out on the streets.

I was able to go home briefly on Saturday to gather some clean clothes (I spent three days in the same pair of jeans!)  Smokey was excited to see me but I had to leave him there.  My poor puppy!  Emin is taking good care of him though...taking him for walks and playing with him. 

I really appreciate having a more than financial relationship with my landlord and his family...in fact, they really treat me as one of the family since I arrived.  I remember the first summer I was here, they were always leaving a basket of vegetables from the garden on the stairs for me and Nena (Grandmother) was always giving me stuffed peppers and cabbage salad :)

Purgatory (Day 3)

1615 CET:  Emin was able to get home to Gracanica using different backroads (I believe the term "worst shit" entered the conversation when he was describing them.)  He closed all the shutters and turned off all the heaters I had on...before the roads closed, it was still not warm...but now the temperature in the house was well in the 80's!!!  Smokey is doing fine and occasionally barking at the soldiers that have been stationed at the KPS police station across the street.

Blame as to who is responsible for the violence the past two days has started to fly as an international mud-slinging contest begins.  The Prime Minister, Rexhepi, has blamed the UN and NATO for failing to halt the bloodshed.  A NATO spokesman stated that the attacks on Serbian villages appeared to be pre-mediated and orchestrated.  The Serbian Foreign Minister has called it an orchestrated attack to ethnically cleanse the Serbs from Kosovo. 

1530 CET:  I have been checking for a way to go home as I've been informed that my landlord needs food and medicine.  All the roads are still blocked and I was informed that there are snipers around Gracanica and even the back roads are not safe.  So, it looks like I won't be able to go home anytime soon.

1100 CET:  Remember Andriy who was lucky to get his belongings yesterday?  We returned to his flat this morning to retrieve the rest of his belongings.  His apartment had been broken into over-night even though the building was "protected" by KPS (Kosovo Police Service).  While nothing was stolen, they broke what they could and made a mess.  Any of the apartments that hadn't been broken into was and any of the vehicles that hadn't had the windows smashed out (including international) were destroyed.  We tried to get to Gracanica but the road was still blocked with no chance of getting through.  The KPS officer said that the backroads were open but we decided to return to the office to check with Security first. 

0900 CET:  I saw three UN vehicles going down the street today on my way into work.  Two were being driven and one was the burnt remains of a UN vehicle on the back of a tow-truck.  But life seems to have returned to normal for the local population.  It is very strange because they act as nothing has or is happening.

Hell (Day 2)

1500 CET:  All non-essential staff was ordered to go home and not return until tomorrow morning.  We are waiting for hand-held radios for emergency contact in case the telephone lines go down.  The cell service was overloaded before this conflict...so now it is even worse with people calling around to check on friends and relatives.  The roads are still blocked with no indication of when they might be open.  The airport was also closed today by order of KFOR.  

1300 CET:  We have been directed to stay in the compound as people are gathering in central Pristina for a protest.  We ordered out for Thai food since some of us are hungry and hopefully it will be delivered before the compound is locked down.  We are also experiencing water and power shortages and have been requested to conserve as much as we can.

11:00 AM CET (Central European Time):  I spent last night in Pristina as full travel restrictions were placed Kosovo-wide for UN staff.  We turned off the lights around 10:30pm when automatic gunfire and explosions started in our area.  We tried watching local news and listen to local radio but information was sketchy at best.  For some reason, the broadcasting was mostly classical music rather than news of what was happening around Kosovo.  This morning, the death toll is at least 22 people with over 250 injured.  Fighting broke out in pretty much every region of Kosovo with violence against UN police and other populations.

Several Serbian houses in Cagalavica were burnt down along with Serbian government offices and a health center in Kosovo Polje.  This has been the worst outbreak of violence since the end of the war in 1999.
I am currently unable to go home for any of my belongings but luckily carry my important documents with me at all times.  I hope that this afternoon, things will be a bit more calm and I will be allowed to travel to my house to gather some clothes in order to stay in the capital for the next couple of days.  So far, my landlord says that things are okay in the area that I live.  I was a little worried about Smokey over the night since he was outside in his kennel.  I hope that I'll be able to go feed him...and maybe bring him to Pristina although I don't know where he would stay! 
 
One of my colleagues, Andriy, was very fortunate in that his apartment building (YU Project) was attacked (it is one of the few Serbian buildings in Pristina) but his apartment was untouched.  The vehicles in the picture above are from in front of his building...which the walls were still too hot to touch from the fires that were set to most of the apartments.  In another part of Pristina, Sunny Hill, at least three internationals were forced out of their apartments, robbed, and then the apartments set on fire. 

All Hell Breaks Loose - A Dark Day for Kosovo

I was able to go home last night but when entering Gracanica, I was told that if I lived past the police station, I would not be allowed to enter.  When I told them that I lived before the station, they responded that it was okay but if I drove past the station, it was my responsibility!  This morning, the roadblocks were still in place but I was able to come into Pristina without any trouble.

Last night, three Albanian children drowned near the flash-point town of Mitrovica.  Mitrovica has the largest divided ethnic population (the Albanians and Serbians separated by a river.)  Newspapers reported that the brother of one of the children said that they were being chased by a group of Serbians and jumped into the river to escape. 

This morning, all hell broke loose in Kosovo.  The Albanians gathered in Mitrovica to protest about the children and things turned sour.  Riot police were called in and fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.  Two UN police vehicles were set on fire and the officers pelted with stones. 
In Cagalavica, it is reported that the Serbs started a street battle with KFOR soldiers and several were killed, many were injured.  We haven't seen any reports about this yet but news has been slow coming in.  It was also rumored that Albanians are infiltrating the Serbian enclaves through the farm fields and starting fights with the Serbs.

Around 5pm, a group of several hundred Albanians gathered outside Mission HQ chanting UCK and booing. 

The Prime Minister is calling on NATO and the UN to calm the situation and to figure out what went wrong later.  Full travel restrictions have been put in place outside the capital...in fact, I am not allowed to go home this evening and will have to stay in Pristina.  We also have been told that once we go home, we are not allowed to go out...and we cannot take our vehicles home but must take UN shuttle buses.