Three people have died in a series of tit-for-tat attacks in the deeply divided Kosovo town of Mitrovica.

About 30 have also been injured and hundreds of angry residents have gathered at two bridges dividing the Serb northern half of the town and the Albanian southern part.

French peacekeeping troops have blocked access to the bridges in an attempt to keep the warring Serb and Albanian communities apart.

The sectarian violence began on Thursday when two Kosovo Albanian men were shot dead. Shortly after a grenade was thrown at a popular café in the Serb part of town.

As the violence escalated an Albanian woman was shot in the northern part of town. That incident was followed by an attack on a second Serb café. In both grenade attacks up to 15 people were injured.

A BBC correspondent says the atmosphere in Mitrovica, where substantial communities of Serbs and Albanians live close to each other, is one of fear and panic.

There are also reports of gunfire and explosions across the town.

This latest unrest follows a rocket attack near Mitrovica on Wednesday in which two Serbs were killed