Mitrovica attack on UNMIK Police Station on 4th birthday of Mitrovica ethnic / religious cleansing - 1st death of UN forces

Kynol Iyor was 25 when arrived in Kosovo on December 17 th 2007 as a member of the Ukrainian Formed Police Unit part of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in the Kosovo (UNMIK) Police force. An unmarried man he had left behind his mother and sister in Ternopol (twinned with Yonkers NY) in the West of Ukraine.

Last Friday 14th March last Friday a mob of about 300 protesters, who had formed outside the UNMIK courthouse in North Mitrovica, illegally stormed it and overwhelmed the defending Police forces. Such demonstrations had become a weekly event and it was said that this was not " spontaneous, women and children were sort of out in front."

Over the weekend 40 or so people , some identified by UNMIK as Serbian Ministry of Interior officers remained and occupied the building.


On Sunday morning Principal Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Larry Rossin consulted Lt.-Gen. Xavier Bout de Marnhac of of the NATO forces in Kosovo (COMKFOR)and Police Commissioner Larry Wilson. Talks were also held with Serbian Minister for Kosovo , Slobodan Samardzic . Rossin authorized the operation that took place early Monday morning to reassert control of the courthouse and to, " re-establish legality and law and order in North Mitrovica at the courthouse."

This caught the occupiers literally napping , initially there was no resistance and the intention was to transfer them to Pristina, and where appropriate prosecute them.

Outside however a mob developed , initially attacking with rocks, then Molotov cocktails (home made petrol bombs) and the Police and KFOR troops surrounding the complex came under direct gunfire and hand grenade attack. It was 4 years ago to the day that the Albanians commenced driving Serbs out of Kosovo when an 18-year-old Serb, Jovica Ivić, in the village of Čaglavica in central Kosovo.

As a result of this attack 42 UNMIK Police officers were injured now scattered in hospitals across Kosovo and 32 of the court occupiers were temporarily detained, processed and then released back to north Mitrovica. At least one UN vehicle and a KFOR truck were destroyed after being set on fire.

Kynol Iyor took the full force of a grenade blast. The gunfire had prevented his evacuation for over 2 hours. Despite later heroic efforts by French KFOR medical doctors in the French camp he simply bled to death.

The first, a violent and bloody death of many more that will follow from the insane acceptance of Kosovan independence by the US and it's allies.
An un-named Serbian member of KPS Nenad Pupovac (Police) , who was said to be off duty received a head bullet wound initially treated at north Mitrovica hospital, he was later evacuated to a Belgrade hospital - nothing is known about his condition.

UN Press conference 18th March transcript
Also SE Asia Times

The events of March 2004 Amnesty reported resulted in, at least 19 dead - 11 Albanians and 8t Serbs -- and over 1,000 were injured while some 730 houses belonging to minorities, mostly Kosovo Serbs, as well as 36 Orthodox churches, monasteries and other religious and cultural sites were damaged or destroyed.



There are many galleries of the destruction of Serbian homes, and orthodox churches, monasteries and community buildings and of attacks on civilians. Start here.