VIENNA (Reuters) - Four people were arrested and two policemen were injured on Sunday when a protest in the Austrian capital against the secession of Kosovo turned violent, police said.
The protest began when some 6,000 demonstrators gathered onVienna's historic Heldenplatz in the city centre, police said.Local media showed protesters waving Serbian flags, chanting"Serbia, Serbia" and burning a U.S. flag. Organisers put theturnout at 10,000.
About 600 people then split off from the main protest andbegan marching towards the U.S. embassy. Violence broke outwhen they realised the area was sealed of by police and theyvented their anger at nearby restaurants and shops, Viennapolice spokesman Manfred Simettinger said.
"They threw bottles, stones and cans, and smashed a numberof shop and restaurant windows," Simettinger told Reuters."Police had to use pepper spray on some occasions."
Protesters also burnt and urinated on an Albanian flag, aReuters witness said.
Kosovo, mainly populated by ethnic Albanians, declaredindependence from Serbia a week ago.
Austrian authorities estimate that some 300,000 people ofSerbian descent live in Austria, which has a total populationof around 8 million.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Caroline Drees)
