The United States embassy in Belgrade, Serbia was raided by protesters that had condemned the US government’s move to recognize and support Kosovo’s independence. At the time of the attack, the police were not guarding the US embassy. One part of the embassy was set on fire. Afterwards, fire fighters came to the scene to put the fire out and discovered a charred body of a person that was not identified.
But, the United States embassy was not the only building to be attacked. The missions of the United Kingdom, Croatia, Belgium, and Turkey were also attacked. They were also countries that also recognized Kosovo’s independence. The United Nations Security Council and European Union were both split over Kosovo’s independence.
On an interesting note, the attack on the US embassy was preceded by a peaceful rally of at least 150,000. It was a peaceful rally followed up by a violent attack on the United States embassy.
Many in Serbia think of Kosovo as the heart and soul of their religion and culture. Most of the people that live in Kosovo are ethnic Albanian.
Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia’s Prime Minister had made a speech earlier that condemned Kosovo’s succession from Serbia. He addressed the crowd and said that Serbia was the only nation pressured to give up its identity by letting Kosovo become independent.
The United States was quickly to condemn the attack on the embassy.
Neither side is backing down. Serbia will not rest until Kosovo becomes part of the country again. Kosovo is remaining independent. The UN and EU remains split over Kosovo.
NATO is stuck in the middle as it remains to provide security to Kosovo.
The charred body remains unidentified for the time being. So far, the staff in the embassy has already been accounted for.
It would not be surprising if the issue of Kosovo becomes a topic for the respective Republican and Democratic debates and then to the general debates with the eventual nominees. Due to the political climate, the possibility is very high.
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