Serb war crimes trial adjourned

The trial takes place amidst continuing tension

The trial of two Kosovo Serbs accused of war crimes was adjourned shortly after it opened against a background of rising tension in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica.

The men are the first Serbs to be put on trial for war crimes carried out in the town - the scene of many violent clashes between its rival Serbian and ethnic Albanian communities.

The case was described by one UN official as "grotesque" and likely to inflame tensions.

Miroslav Vuckovic and Bozur Bisevac, who is being tried in his absence, are accused of killing an ethnic Albanian woman while torching homes during Belgrade's crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian majority last year.

The trial will resume on 12 June.

Powder keg

Although they are charged with the death of only one person, under Yugoslav law the combination of killing and driving people from their homes can lead to genocide charges.

"This is the kind of thing that really puts a match to the powder keg," the UN official said.

Bernard Kouchner gave in to the prisoners demands

Dozens of French peacekeepers have been injured in the town trying to keep feuding Serbs and ethnic Albanians apart.

The two men, from the village of Suvi Do, just west of Mitrovica, are accused of having burned the homes knowing that an elderly ethnic Albanian woman, who died in the blaze, was inside.

The men, who fought for the Yugoslav army during Nato's 78-day air war last year, are also charged with threatening to kill ethnic Albanians and illegally confiscating property while in the company of Serb police, soldiers and paramilitaries.

The international community agreed to speed up the trials of suspected war criminals after Serb prisoners staged a hunger strike in protest at their prolonged detention.

It took the top international official in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, to break the deadlock over the hunger strike and he did so by giving in to almost all the prisoners' demands.

The men were protesting against being held for weeks without trial.

At the height of the hunger strike, as many as 1,000 local Serbs gathered outside the jail every day.

Mr Kouchner visited the prisoners two weeks ago, and persuaded them to give up their protest in return for prompt trials before an international judge.

Intimidation

An international judge is presiding over the trial, assisted by a panel of lay judges made up of two Serbs and two Albanians.

Local Serb leaders have criticised war crimes trials held in Kosovo, accusing the courts of being biased.

Until recently, Serb judges refused to take part because of intimidation from other Serbs.

The international community now seems to have gone some way to ensuring fair trials.