BANJA LUKA — Hundreds of protesters tried to attack the US consulate in Bosnia’s Serb Republic yesterday, smashing shops in the city centre after they were pushed away by riot police.

About 10000 people protested in the region’s capital Banja Luka against the secession of Kosovo from Serbia. The Albanian-majority breakaway province declared independence on February 17 with w estern backing.

Despite a police presence, the protest turned violent when several hundred set off towards the consulate, throwing stones and firecrackers at the building. They smashed the windows of Croat-owned shops. Three people were injured, including two police officers, the emergency services said.

A witness said several rioters, mainly minors, were detained.

Bosnia is made up of the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat federation, a dual-entity state created by the Dayton accords that ended the 1992-95 war among Bosnian Serbs, Croats and Muslims.

Bosnian Serb legislators threatened last week to hold a referendum on secession from Bosnia if the United Nations recognises Kosovo’s independence. Reuters