Kosovo revenge attacks condemned

Violence earlier this week in Gracanica highlighted the shaky security situation

The UN refugee agency has condemned the ethnic Albanian treatment of Serbs in Kosovo - a year after peacekeepers moved in.

A spokesman in Geneva said the oppressed had become the oppressors in a cycle of violence and revenge.

The remarks came as a report by the UNHCR and the OSCE (the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) highlighted the suffering of minorities in Kosovo.

Killings, kidnappings, bombings, beatings, arson attacks, and other abuses continue unabated

UN spokesman Ron Redmond

The UN refugee agency says the biggest failure in Kosovo has been the inability to stop the spiral of violence against minorities. Over the past year, tens of thousands have been driven from their homes by ethnic Albanians committed to revenge.

UN refugee spokesman Ron Redmond said: "Each departure has further eroded hopes for at least a semblance of multi-ethnicity and tolerance.

"Killings, kidnappings, bombings, beatings, arson attacks, and other abuses continue unabated."

A report by the UNHCR and the OSCE says the violence has been exacerbated by the continued shortfall of UN police, and a lack of a functioning and impartial judicial system.

Ethnically-motivated attacks continue to put people in hospital

But it also highlights the everyday discrimination against minority groups. In some areas Serbs and Roma are trapped in their homes, unable to venture out without a heavily-armed escort.

Many Serb children are taken to school under military guard, while Serbs are often excluded from the health care services and have to go to Serbia for treatment.

The report says the UN mission in Kosovo will be judged on its success in upholding minority rights and ensuring their security.

The UN special representative Bernard Kouchner is due to brief the security council on Friday.

He has arranged for a party of moderate Serbs from Kosovo to present their story.

UN chief Kofi Annan has also joined the condemnation of anti-Serb violence in the province.

Despite advances, the UN still has much to do to make Kosovo safe

He said the international community had not intervened in the province to make it a haven for revenge and crime.

His views were echoed by the US special envoy to the Balkans, James O'Brien, who described the killing of eight Serbs in the past week alone as "systematic".

"We believe that those responsible should be brought to justice as soon as possible," he said.

But Mr Annan said much in Kosovo had changed for the better in the year since the security council authorised the Nato-led peacekeeping force to move in.

He cited the return of more than 800,000 refugees, the reconstruction of homes and an economy which shows signs of a vibrant recovery.

Thousands missing

Kosovo Albanian leaders Ibrahim Rugova and Hashim Thaci have pledged to work to counter the bloodshed.

"Acts of violence... especially those targeting the Serb community, are extremely disturbing," said Mr Rugova, the leading Kosovo Albanian moderate.

Less than half of the approximately 200,000 Serbs living in Kosovo two years ago remain.

Moderate Serbs ended their participation in the UN-supervised interim Kosovo government last Sunday to protest against the most recent wave of anti-Serb attacks.

The International Red Cross has published a list of more than 3,300 people it says are still missing as a result of the conflict in Kosovo.