Explosion damages local party headquarters in eastern Kosovo

Associated Press, Sunday, January 28, 2007

 

PRISTINA, Serbia - An explosion damaged the local headquarters of a Kosovo political party in the eastern part of the province Sunday, police said. No one was reported injured.

 

The explosion occurred around 6.15 p.m. (1615GMT) and is believed to have been caused by a device outside the building in the town of Gnjilane, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Kosovo's capital Pristina, police spokesman Veton Elshani said.

 

The damaged offices previously belonged to the local branch of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo. But recently there have been disputes in that area after some party officials opted to split from it and create their own party.

 

The new party's name is the Democratic League. But it was unclear to whom the party offices now belong.

 

Police could not confirm whether the political offices were the target of the blast. The explosion also shattered the windows of several businesses nearby, Elshani said.

 

Two explosions hit the area in September, targeting vehicles belonging to government officials.

 

Kosovo has been run as a U.N. protectorate since the end of the 1998-1999 conflict between Serb forces and ethnic Albanians seeking independence.

 

A U.N. envoy on Kosovo's future will present his proposal to ethnic Albanian leaders on Friday.