Blasts go off at Kosovo police station in simultaneous attacks
Though the world's attention is focused on Iraq, there are other areas of the world where political unrest continues without missing a beat. Kosovo continues to sort out it's political future- and sometimes the process gets rather messy.
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro -- Explosions damaged two police stations in Kosovo in simultaneous attacks, a U.N. police spokesman said today. No one was injured.
The attacks late Friday targeted Pristina police stations manned by both U.N. and local police, spokesman Al Garcia said. No motive was known, and police had no suspects, he added.
The blasts broke windows at both stations and damaged at least one U.N. police car.
Kosovo's police stations were put on alert because of the attacks, Garcia said. An investigation was underway.
Kosovo has been run by the United Nations and NATO since 1999, when the military alliance bombed Serb troops loyal to former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to stop their crackdown on independence-minded ethnic Albanians.
About 4,500 U.N. police officers and 5,500 local officers provide everyday security in the province.
It's been eight years since I lived in Kosovo, but not a day goes by without me thinking about the people I knew there and the friends I made. I often wonder how many of them survived the 1999 war.
Yes, Kosovo is a remote corner of the world, and no, we have nothing to gain by being involved. There are no valuable natural resources, no economic potential, just a country struggling to determine it's own fate. It would be nice to see my friends there gain the opportunity to live in peace and security.
