Rioters break into Belgrade's US Embassy

[♥JP♥ 5]

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serb rioters broke into the U.S. Embassy Thursday and set fire to an office after a massive protest against Kosovo's independence that drew an estimated 150,000 people.

Masked attackers broke into the building, which has been closed this week, and tried to throw furniture from an office. A blaze broke out inside one of the offices and parts of the facade also caught fire.

Authorities drove armored jeeps down the street and fired tear gas to clear the crowd. The protesters dispersed into side streets where they continued clashing with authorities.

The neighboring Croatian Embassy also was attacked by the same group of protesters.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack strongly urged the Serbian government to protect the U.S. Embassy. He said the U.S. ambassador was at his home and was in contact with U.S. officials.

More than a dozen nations have recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence on Sunday, including the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

But the declaration by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership has been rejected by Serbia's government and the ethnic Serbians who populate northern Kosovo. Russia, China and numerous other nations have also condemned the declaration, saying it sets a precedent that separatist groups around the world will seek to emulate.

Kosovo, which is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has not been under Belgrade's control since 1999, when NATO launched airstrikes to halt a Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. A U.N. mission has governed Kosovo since, with more than 16,000 NATO troops and KFOR, a multiethnic force, policing the province.

But Serbia — and Kosovo's Serbs, who make up less than 10 percent of Kosovo's population — refuse to give up Kosovo, a territory considered the ancient cradle of Serbs' state and religion.

Earlier Thursday, police estimated that about 150,000 people had attended a rally in the Serbian capital. The crowd waved Serbian flags and carried signs reading "Stop USA terror." One group set fire to a red-and-black Albanian flag.

Source

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

I think someone needs to tell Russia to go **** themselves. They still treat the former soviet countries like their step-children.

Cold War II is upon us, I'm afraid.

[♥JP♥ 5]

I wonder how many members are currently going through this embassy and how this will affect them....

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

marines - fix bayonets!

[almaty 19]

I think someone needs to tell Russia to go **** themselves. They still treat the former soviet countries like their step-children.

Cold War II is upon us, I'm afraid.

i agree....

[mawilson 2,133]

Cold War II is upon us, I'm afraid.

A Cold Peace, to be sure.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Cold War II is upon us, I'm afraid.

A Cold Peace, to be sure.

Either way, my nipples are hard.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

marines - fix bayonets!

Aren't there supposed to be Marines guarding every US embassy worldwide all the time?

Or is that just not true? I always believed it.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I have a Serbian landlord. He has an interesting perspective on the whole Kosovo thing.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I have a Serbian landlord. He has an interesting perspective on the whole Kosovo thing.

I have a few second-generation Albanian-American colleagues at work. Their feelings on this have always been very interesting, right from the beginning when we first went in.

[mawilson 2,133]

I have a Serbian landlord. He has an interesting perspective on the whole Kosovo thing.

Would you like to share it with us?

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Whooops! I just started a thread about the embassy in Belgrade. Ain't I a dip$hit....

Anyway, like I said there, hope no one is scheduled for an interview there anytime soon. What a mess.

[almaty 19]

Serbia has did ethnic cleasing there..they voided their chance at an opinion that matters..russia, worries about Chenya and other parts, seeing this and starting up insurrgent for independence...

[Amby 490]

f'd up seriously f'd up

[Jasman0717 9]

Let loose the 'devil dogs' of war