By Matt Robinson
GRACANICA, Kosovo (Reuters) - More than 100 Serb policeofficers in Kosovo turned in their weapons, radios and badgesin Saturday in a deepening rebellion against the ethnicAlbanian majority's declaration of independence from Serbia.
The officers stationed in central Kosovo followed more than100 others in the eastern Gnjilane region in being suspendedfor 48 hours from the Kosovo police service (KPS) afterrejecting the Albanian-dominated command in Pristina.
Hundreds of Kosovo Serb police officers are demanding theyreport only to the U.N. police force in the country, whichformally split from Serbia on February 17 with the support ofthe major Western powers.
Backed by Russia, Serbia rejects Kosovo's secession and isinstructing the new country's 120,000 remaining Serbs to do thesame, worsening the ethnic divide and raising fears Kosovo isheading for de facto partition.
"We don't know what's going to happen next," said Serbofficer Nebojsa Mirkovic in the monastery town of Gracanica."We've given them our guns, radios etc. The uniforms stay."
Around 700 Serbs serve in the 7,000-strong KPS, created bythe United Nations after taking over Serbia's then provincewith the end of the 1998-99 war and pullout of Serb forces.
The European Union is taking over policing and supervisionof the new country, but faces a challenge to impose its rule inSerb areas, notably the north where Serbs dominate. Serbofficers in the north already report only to the U.N. force.
The EU's Kosovo envoy, Dutch diplomat Pieter Feith, accusedSerbia on Friday of trying to sever ties between the 90-percentAlbanian majority and minority Serbs, a move he said was"coming very close" to a bid for partition.
Besides the police coming under strain, border posts in thenorth have also been attacked and Serbs are trying to takecontrol of the main U.N. court in the north by preventing itsAlbanian staff from working.
The Kosovo police said Albanian officers would patrol Serbareas in the absence of their Serb colleagues.
"We have enough Albanian police officers who have worked inthese areas before," said spokesman Veton Elshani. "They willpatrol in cooperation with U.N. police, and if necessary withKFOR as well."
KFOR is the 16,000-strong NATO-led peace force in Kosovo.
Serbia lost control over its then southern province in1999, after NATO bombed to halt the killing and ethniccleansing of Albanian civilians by Serb forces in a two-yearwar against separatist guerrillas.
(Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci)
