NATO to Ban Gatherings Around Kosovo Bridge

NATO peacekeepers said Tuesday that they intend to impose a ban on gatherings near a main bridge in Kosovo, the site of frequent clashes between ethnic Albanians and Serbs.

Lt. Col. Patrick Chanliau, a NATO spokesman, said peacekeepers decided to establish “a confidence zone” on both sides of the bridge and ban gatherings, demonstrations and vehicle parking without a special permit.

There was no immediate reaction to the announcement by Serbs or Albanians.

Chanliau also said walkie-talkies, used by Serbian “bridge guards” to report on the movement of ethnic Albanians, will be banned in the zone.

He did not specify when the ban will go into effect or how large it will be but said “within a couple of days the limits of the confidence area will be marked with posters so people will know when they are entering it.”

Chanliau said the move was intended to “enable the members of all nationalities to move freely and communicate.”

Foot patrols and increased movement of NATO-led troops were noticeable in Kosovska Mitrovica on Tuesday.

With ethnic bitterness intense on both sides, French troops have enforced the effective division of the city since they arrived in June. Peacekeepers have clashed frequently with ethnic Albanians trying to cross the bridge, and as many as a dozen people were killed and more injured in clashes near the bridge in recent weeks.

Serbs have said they will flee Kosovska Mitrovica if they don’t gain control of the bridge.