Senior UN official calls for probe into latest incident in Kosovo
The United Nations envoy for Kosovo has condemned the incidents that occurred there on June 28 2012, particularly the attack on buses carrying a number of children of Serbian nationality, and called on all parties to refrain from actions that could worsen the situation, the UN News Centre said.
A group of about 70 Serbs was travelling in two buses to Gazimestan, a religious and historic site close to the capital, Pristina, when police turned them back, according to media reports. The subsequent clashes reportedly left 50 people injured.
Farid Zarif, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, strongly condemned the “incidents and provocative acts,” in a statement issued by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
Zarif called on the authorities to conduct a complete and thorough investigation into the incidents.
In Sofia, Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov expressed concern about the incident.
“We await a swift investigation and punishment for those responsible for what happened,” he said.
Mladenov said that it was crucially important right now that agreements reached in the Belgrade– Priština dialogue brokered by the European Union to be implemented in reality, including the interim agreement on local control of the checkpoint.
“I hope that this incident will remain an isolated one, as all in the EU and the region are working towards,” he said.
(Photo: NJPN)
