KOSOVO: MITROVICA: BRITISH KFOR TROOPS SECURE BRIDGE

Eng/Albanian/Nat

British troops in Kosovo spent their first day in Mitrovica securing a key bridge.

They took over control of the strategic site from their French K-FOR counterparts.

Mitrovica is divided between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Overall jurisdiction for the town lies with the French.

The area around Mitrovica was recently shaken by escalating ethnic tension between Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

A contingent of 140 British K-FOR troops has been brought in to help their French counterparts in Mitrovica.

On their first day of active duty they took over control of checkpoint on a key bridge from the French troops, who still have jurisdiction over the rest of the town.

British commander, Major Simon Plummer, denied that the change over was because of the French troops' poor performance in Kosovo.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I am not going to reinforce anyone else. The French have asked us to come, its a perfectly normal arrangement. KFOR is a multinational force. This week we are here in Mitrovica and next week we may be somewhere else."
SUPER CAPTION: British Major Simon Plummer

K-FOR commander, General Klaus Reinhardt, has also spoken out in support of the French troops.

There have been a string of protests and press articles critical of the French response to violence in Mitrovica over the last week.

"We don't trust the French, send us Americans," cried a headline in Epoka e Re, one of the newspapers catering for the ethnic Albanian majority in the southern Yugoslav province.

Ethnic Albanians have alleged French troops did not do enough to protect them in Serb-dominated northern Mitrovica during the violence, one of the worst outbreaks since the NATO-led K-FOR force arrived in Kosovo last June.

One Albanian expressed the joy of the ethnic majority about the arrival of the British troops.

SOUNDBITE: (Albanian)
"We feel very good and we hope that they will take measures to free the other parts of the city too."
SUPER CAPTION: Mexhid Tahiri

Tension there escalated sharply last week following a rocket attack on a U-N relief agency bus which killed two Serb civilians.

The incident sparked a series of grenade attacks, shootings and clashes, leaving at least eight ethnic Albanians dead and dozens of Serbs and ethnic Albanians injured.


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