The United Nations Security Council has condemned recent violence in Kosovo, in which eight people have been killed and at least twenty injured.

The Council President, Arnoldo Listre, said members were calling for an immediate stop to the violence, and he urged all parties to excercise restraint and tolerance.

Clashes began a week ago after a grenade attack on a cafe in the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica.

International peacekeepers say it's the worst outbreak of ethnic violence since the end of the NATO bombing campaign in June last year. The United Nations said five hundred ethnic Albanians have left their homes in the predominantly-Serb northern areas of Mitrovica following the attacks. Meanwhile, British troops have replaced French soldiers on a bridge that divides the two ethnic groups in the town, following widespread reports that the French had not properly supported other UN peacekeeping forces during the clashes.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service