Crossfire War – Kosovo – Explosion Near UN Headquarters – Pristina

Crossfire War – Tehran – Ankara Watch – Southeast Europe Theatre: Tehran – Ankara – Pristina/Vienna – Brussels – Warsaw; Kosovo – Explosion in Pristina Near UN Headquarters Monday Night

Night Watch: PRISTINA – AKI reports Monday night, at about 9:30 pm local time, an explosion took place near UN headquarters in Pristina, the capital of the Serbian province of Kosovo, the center of the latest dispute in the Balkans, and the one most likely to cause the next war. Police spokesman Veton Elsani stated afterward, “The explosion damaged three UN automobiles and a private car. Apart from material damage there were no injuries. At the moment we can say nothing about perpetrators and their possible motives.” [AKI]

Based on recent demonstrations it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. Crossfirewar.com mentioned last November 5,000 ethnic Albanians attacked with rocks the United Nations Mission in Kosovo building in Pristina. Just last week 3,000 Albanians demonstrated against the UN plan of Martti Ahtisaari. They were led by the Albanian militant group Vetevendosje (Self – Determination) and attempted to storm the Kosovo Parliament in Pristina. It was only a matter of time before they would resort to violence and I don’t think they are surprised. They are frustrated at the slow pace of what Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku called the “historical process” towards their independence.

The Albanian community in Kosovo did not attract NATO’s and the UN’s attention peacefully, but only by attacking, in the late 1990s, Belgrade’s control over the province and the Serbian community, a lot of which has left the province since 1999 after NATO’s 78 day air campaign. NATO-UN forces have occupied the province ever since but obviously the Albanians don’t trust the UN or NATO sense of mission, especially with Brussels making so many overtures to incorporate Serbia into NATO’s command structure. Albanians are mostly Muslim and the principal governments in NATO, Berlin-Washington-London-Paris are by no means on the best of terms with Muslims and Islamic governments. The Albanians therefore may believe Brussels is secretly in league with the Serbs.

As the weather gets warmer the violence will increase causing Belgrade to strike back with its re-equipped military and the next war will be in progress.

www.crossfirewar.com

Willard Payne is an international affairs analyst who specializes in International Relations. A graduate of Western Illinois University with a concentration in East-West Trade and East-West Industrial Cooperation, he has been providing incisive analysis to NewsBlaze. He is the author of Imagery: The Day Before.