3-year-old hurt in Kosovo explosion

Source: B92, FoNet, Tanjug

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- A three-year-old Serb girl was hurt in an explosion that happened on Tuesday in the northern part of the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica. 

The child was hurt inside her home, when the device exploded on the roof of the apartment building.

Doctors said that the child had an injury to her knee and that her life was not threatened.

Kosovo police spokesperson Besim Hoti told Tanjug on Wednesday that the explosion that destroyed a cell site belonging to the mobile carrier Ipko, which services Albanians, was caused by 200 grams of TNT.

The site, located on the roof of an apartment building in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, was destroyed at 20:40 CET on Tuesday, Hoti noted.

The roof space was rented out by a local Serb who works for KPS, it has emerged.

His neighbors, who spent the night out in the street, said that they asked him repeatedly to remove the antenna, but that he refused.

After the blast, the rest of the night in northern Kosovska Mitrovica was quiet. This event continues a series of incidents in northern Kosovo, which began with the murder of doctor Mesud Džeković in northern Kosovska Mitrovica in July.

KPS, EULEX and KFOR all showed up at the scene and blocked this part of the city, according to reports.

Violence condemned

Serbia's State Secretary for Kosovo Oliver Ivanović said Wednesday that people should not speculate about the possible motives for the Tuesday incident in northern Kosovska Mitrovica.

Ivanović told Tanjug that violence was an unacceptable tool in solving any problems.

Every time the Kosovo Albanians used violence to destroy Serbian mobile carriers' towers, there was a reaction, said Ivanović. "Many Serbs in northern Kosovska Mitrovica have relatives south of the city, and the disruption to communications seems frightening at a time like this," he remarked.

Violence breeds more violence, and everyone should refrain from one-sided actions and allow the situation to calm down, so that Serbia and Kosovo could start talking about the issues that are important for everyday life, said the Ministry for Kosovo official.