Kosovo Albanian Marchers Seek Kin’s Release, End to Violence

Thousands of ethnic Albanian women clutching photographs of missing relatives marched here Wednesday to demand the release of prisoners allegedly held in Serbia and an end to violence in this volatile city.

The silent protest on the city’s south side was a poignant contrast to the clash Tuesday between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in the northern, Serb-dominated side of the divided city. Twenty Serbs, four Albanians and 16 French peacekeepers were injured then.

On Wednesday, a U.N. police official accused French troops of preventing U.N. police from investigating Tuesday’s violence.

“We were prevented by French [peacekeepers] from carrying out our investigation into yesterday’s incidents despite the fact that we have primacy in this city,” John Adams, deputy regional commander for the U.N. police in the city, told reporters.

Lt. Col. Patrick Chanliau, a spokesman for the French peacekeepers, said he knew nothing about a dispute between peacekeepers and police over crime scene jurisdiction.

Patience with the efforts of peacekeepers and U.N. officials, aimed at returning the city to its prewar multiethnic state, is running low among both ethnic Albanians and Serbs.

Wednesday’s protest focused on the Albanians’ claim that many men and women were kidnapped as Serbian forces pulled out of Kosovo--a province of Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic--in June.

An early-morning blast in the city caused no injuries.

Meanwhile, U.N. officials continued Wednesday to register Serbs who want to return to their homes on the southern side of Kosovska Mitrovica. Five Serbs showed up Wednesday, but it was not clear whether all wanted to return.