United Nations, February 17, 2001
Security Council members condemn attack against Kosovo Serbs
16 February - Members of the United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned what they called a "terrorist attack" on a convoy of buses carrying Kosovo Serb civilians, which left at least seven people killed, ten seriously wounded and dozens more injured.
According to a report from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the first bus in the convoy at Merdare crossed a culvert packed with explosives, which was detonated by a command wire. The attack occurred just after the buses entered Kosovo from Serbia.
In a statement to the press, Council members expressed their shock and called for an immediate investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice. "This latest tragedy follows a recent upsurge in violence in Kosovo which is totally unacceptable and must be reversed," the Council said, calling on all inhabitants of Kosovo to stand against the violence of extremists working against peace and stability, and on Kosovo political leaders to contribute to the stability of the situation.
The Council statement was delivered to the press by Council President Saпd Ben Mustapha of Tunisia, which holds the UN body's rotating presidency this month.
The attack was equally condemned, "in the strongest terms possible," by UNMIK chief Hans Haekkerup. "It is a terrible tragedy, not only for the victims and their families, but for all the people of Kosovo," he said in a statement issued in Pristina. "Those who believe that such a contemptible act might in some way advance the political aspirations of small, extremist and marginalized sectors of Kosovo's society are seriously mistaken."
In a separate development, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed Gary L. Matthews of the United States as Principal Deputy Special Representative in Kosovo, replacing Jock Covey, also of the United States.
Prior to his new appointment, Mr. Matthews served as Deputy High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Supervisor for Brcko. Before that, he was Regional Director in the Bosnian town of Mostar for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Mr. Matthews is a retired ambassador who served in the US Foreign Service for 30 years.
|
