Kosovo Serbs Ask U.N. to Set Up Cantons; Ethnic Albanians Object
With NATO-led peacekeepers unable to stop reprisal attacks, Serbian leaders on Wednesday asked the United Nations to create all-Serb havens within Kosovo.
The proposal was immediately rejected by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia’s dominant republic.
Serbian members of the joint Serbian-Albanian council--organized to advise the U.N. on governing Kosovo--proposed setting up five all-Serb areas within the province, citing continued threats to their security from Albanians. The areas would be protected by international peacekeepers and governed by Serbs, along with international representatives.
Ethnic Albanians on the council immediately rejected the proposal.
Most of the 200,000 Serbs who made up about 10% of Kosovo’s prewar population have fled the province since the NATO-led peacekeepers entered June 12.
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