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Minister visits UK troops in Kosovo

Mr Spellar, promoted in the July reshuffle, met soldiers running the power station in the capital, Pristina, and saw others policing the streets.

He also watched the clearing of unexploded Serb weaponry at a bombed ammunition dump north of Pristina.

Since allied forces went into Kosovo there have been 121 casualties of mines and unexploded bombs, including 29 deaths.

Many of those have been children picking up anti-personnel cluster bombs dropped by allied planes.

'Disposal and education'

Mr Spellar said: "We have to have a combination of disposal and education because there are a lot of mines and unexploded ordnance.

"We are clearing quite a lot of it on a priority basis but at the same time we have to make sure the local people, youngsters especially, know what to avoid and to report it when they find it."

Army anti-explosives experts are aiming to clear all schools of unexploded bombs, mines, and booby traps before the new school term begins next month.

Explosives expert Major Andy Phillips said: "Cluster bombs are a particular problem as they are brightly coloured canisters, they look innocuous to children and safe to move around."

Mr Spellar has said he believes too much attention has been focused on "violent incidents rather than the incredible saga of hundreds of thousands of people returning to their homes".

He said the worst of the violent incidents between ethnic Albanians and the remaining Serbs in the province had passed.

"There undoubtedly was a peak in that and we are now in a downturn," he said.

"That doesn't mean that there are not still violent incidents and things could not be better, but it is only part of the story.

"This is a country that has been to hell and back and where there has been huge disruption, so while it is true these incidents are taking place they are only a part of a story of massive reconstruction taking place."

He was also visiting soldiers helping to maintain law and order in the province.

The minister's visit comes just a day after the UN refugee agency said it was moving Serbs out of Kosovo, to stop them being attacked by ethnic Albanians.

The evacuations went ahead despite Nato's strong opposition. It is estimated that only 50,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo - a quarter of the pre-war population.

The UNHCR says more than 755,000 Kosovo Albanians have returned to Kosovo since the deployment of K-For troops in the province in mid-June.

About 50,400 refugees and displaced people remain in the neighbouring territories.

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Internet Links

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UNHCR - Kosovo News

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