March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Ethnic Albanian groups organized
last week's violence in the Serbian province of Kosovo in which
28 people died, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer, head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
``What happened last week, orchestrated and organized by
extremist factions in the Albanian community, is unacceptable,''
de Hoop Scheffer said, as cited by AFP, during a visit yesterday
to Kosovo's capital, Pristina. The ``responsible leadership of
the Albanian community'' should condemn the violence against
ethnic Serbs, the NATO secretary general said.
De Hoop Scheffer met Harri Holkeri, the United Nations
special representative in Kosovo, to discuss the worst violence
in the UN-administered region since the 1998-99 war. More than
3,300 people were left homeless after three days of rioting.
Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 1.9
million people, want independence from Serbia. About 80,000 Serbs
live in areas of the province protected by the NATO-led KFOR
peacekeeping force. NATO has deployed 2,000 more soldiers in the
province since the riot to help maintain law and order.
(Agence France-Presse 3-23)