Kosovo declares day of mourning for victims of ethnic clashes

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro -- The top U.N. official in Kosovo inspected Serb homes damaged in fires set last week by ethnic Albanian mobs as the province marked a day of mourning Monday for the 28 people who died in the ethnic violence.\nHarri Holkeri expressed his shock over the recent violence, but said he remained determined to see peace established in the troubled province.\n"Kosovo is a test for humanity and we will win in that battle," Holkeri told reporters as he walked through an apartment complex in Pristina, Serbia-Montenegro, set ablaze Wednesday by ethnic Albanians. The Serbs who lived there were evacuated after the attacks and brought to safety at a NATO camp.\nTouring with him was Kosovo's ethnic Albanian prime minister, Bajram Rexhepi, who promised his government would try to repair damage inflicted on the Serb community by funding the reconstruction of destroyed homes and churches.\n"But what we cannot repair is the lost lives," Rexhepi said.\nIbrahim Rugova, Kosovo's president, promised a thorough investigation into the violence and promised action to remedy the source of the hatred.\nBut he also repeated his calls for the province to become independent -- the most contentious issue here.\nMeanwhile, flags flew at half-staff and classical music was played on Kosovo television as the province marked a day of mourning.\nLast week's attacks were the worst outbreak of violence since 1999 when a NATO air war ended a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians seeking independence. The war killed 10,000 ethnic people.\nKosovo has since been an international protectorate, its final status to be decided some time in the future by the United Nations. For now, it officially remains a part of Serbia-Montenegro, the successor state of Yugoslavia.\nThroughout Serbia-Montenegro, flags were also lowered and Serbian Orthodox priests led liturgies and prayer services Sunday as the country mourned the victims. As church bells tolled, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, appealed for calm.\nAlso Sunday, thousands in Kosovo attended the funeral of two ethnic Albanian boys whose drowning was blamed on the Serbs and had sparked the violence.\nThe deaths of the boys Tuesday triggered days of rioting, looting and arson by ethnic Albanian mobs against Serbs. About 600 people were injured and 4,000 were homeless by the week's end.\nThe violence in Kosovo in turn set off riots in Serbia -- these targeting ethnic Albanians. Monday the Belgrade police chief was fired for failing to stop a Serb mob from torching the capital's only mosque. The government of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has claimed it ordered the mosque secured.