American Embassy in Belgrade is burning(Breaking News)

[Mr Bean]

No links to the story yet, but CNN is covering the fact that a riot has broken out in Belgrade and the rioters have set fire to the American Embassy in that city and are attempting to break into the building.

No one is inside the embassy at this time due to it being closed, but all indications by CNN is this is not the only place that the rioters are trying to break into, all because the US backs Kosovo's independence.

[FSTargetDrone]

No links to the story yet, but CNN is covering the fact that a riot has broken out in Belgrade and the rioters have set fire to the American Embassy in that city and are attempting to break into the building.

No one is inside the embassy at this time due to it being closed, but all indications by CNN is this is not the only place that the rioters are trying to break into, all because the US backs Kosovo's independence.

Just posted on MSNBC:

BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC News Services
updated 9 minutes ago

BELGRADE, Serbia - Protesters broke into the U.S. embassy in Belgrade on Thursday and set fires, cheered on by crowds outside rallying against U.S. support for Kosovo's independence.

Doors were ripped off, set on fire and wedged in the embassy windows. Black smoke billowed from the building. Papers and chairs were thrown out of the windows.

One protester climbed up to the first floor, ripped the U.S. flag off its pole and briefly put up a Serbian flag in its place.

Some protesters jumped up and down on the embassy balcony, holding up a Serbian flag as the crowd below of about 1,000 people cheered them on, shouting "Serbia, Serbia".

Police had not been protecting the building, but riot police intervened, firing tear gas and driving a number of armored jeeps down the street to clear the crowd.

The storming of the building came during a state-backed rally to protest at Kosovo's secession on Sunday attended by some 200,000 people, which was otherwise peaceful.

The rioters were mainly young men, some of whom wore balaclavas and scarves to hide their faces. They had attacked the building with sticks and metal bars and destroyed two guard boxes outside.

Protesters ripped some metal grilles from the embassy windows and also tore a handrail off the building's entrance and used it as a battering ram against the main door.

The embassy had been closed in anticipation of the demonstration. A spokesman for the State Department said there are no reports of any injuries to Americans.

The neighboring Croatian Embassy also was attacked.

The attack came after Kosovo declared its independence Sunday. The United States recognized the new nation the next day, and European nations have followed suit.

There has been unrest in Kosovo since the independence declaration. Hundreds of Serbs have launched attacks on border outposts, prompting NATO to reinforce the northern Serb-dominated part of Kosovo and take control of the borders.

The violence has sparked fears of sustained violence, with Serbian officials saying the attacks were in line with its attempt to contest Kosovo's secession.

Ethnic Albanian separatists fought a 1998-99 war with Serbian forces, and an estimated 10,000 people were killed.

In areas of Kosovo where Serbs live surrounded by majority ethnic Albanians, Serb leaders urged Serbia's government to tone down statements or risk endangering lives.

"Serbs from the north have brought other Serbs in Kosovo in a position to fear for their children and their lives, which is a very painful feeling — the fear of what your own people might do," Kosovo Serb leader Rada Trajkovic was quoted Thursday as saying by the independent Serbian news agency FoNet.

This breaking news story will be updated.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Well, that didn't take long.

[FSTargetDrone]

Well, that didn't take long.

Looks like some people in cars are being attack by the street protesters. Police are moving through the streets and are being attacked with thrown objects.

[Dartzap]

No doubt ours will be next *sighs* Could be worse, could be football hooligans, I suppose...

Sarcasm, folks.

[Tribun]

Here an impression from the fire:



Take three guess how much this will strengthen Serbia's position on the whole affair... (sarcasm)

[Mr Bean]

Breaking News Part II or III
Protesters are also outside German, French, British and Croatian embassy, and if CNN is to be believed they are "symbolically attacking" IE trying to set them on fire as well.

[Dartzap]

Breaking News Part II or III
Protesters are also outside German, French, British and Croatian embassy, and if CNN is to be believed they are "symbolically attacking" IE trying to set them on fire as well.

I cant help but wonder is we don't have a few Royal Marines in our embassy... You never know, I suppose. we have 600 troops on alert to drop into the area anyway, they can always do a rescue mission if desperate, I hope.

[FSTargetDrone]

Breaking News Part II or III
Protesters are also outside German, French, British and Croatian embassy, and if CNN is to be believed they are "symbolically attacking" IE trying to set them on fire as well.

I cant help but wonder is we don't have a few Royal Marines in our embassy... You never know, I suppose. we have 600 troops on alert to drop into the area anyway, they can always do a rescue mission if desperate, I hope.

I heard someone on CNN or MSNBC say that a "guard house" was attacked on the grounds of the British Embassy, and also that protesters moved on the Canadian Embassy, but there was no real damage at either place.

Video a few minutes ago showed some security vehicles pushing the crowds down a street. Some of the vehicles are open-topped in the rear (they appear to be about the size of a military Humvee) and someone threw a Molotov cocktail-type device in the back of one of the vehicles. The driver immediately tried to move his vehicle away but it appears that the fire went out on its own, or someone in side put it out. Scary.

There was also video of protesters being arrested and pulled off of the street.

[Netko]

A very much expected event (notice that the US mostly evacuated the embassy in preparation), same as yesterday's border post burning. <tinfoilhat>I wonder how many of the "protesters" that broke into the embassy were Serbian intelligence services personnel.</tinfoilhat>

The Serbs are pretty much bungling their response by the numbers though. A certain level of protests and violence was fully expected and scripted for, however they are lashing out in really counter-productive ways. For instance, the Croatian embassy was also hit and there were even quasi-terrorist attacks linked with this in Croatia (2 Croatian citizens of Kosovo Albanian origins' trucks were torched during the night and the son of one of them got a text message that Kosovo was the heart of Serbia and that they will be next - as in, the next time it won't be just the cars that burn). Those events have nothing but potential to damage the carefully normalised relations between the two countries, and probably fasten the Croatian recognition of Kosovo which was delayed, over the majority popular opinion I should add, precisely because of concerns over not straining that relationship (the "those ungrateful SOBs" reaction). On the other hand, it might also make the Croatian significant minority in Vojvodina (which was an autonomous region in Yugoslavia, same as Kosovo), northern Serbia, skittish do to the nationalist overtones of having our embassy hit compared to the other embassies hit which were all of countries that have recognised Kosovo independence. I'm actually surprised that the people in charge of this protest farce (probably relatively well connected to the people in government) don't have more sense.

[Netko]

It should also be noted that a lot of the "peaceful" protests are essentially government organised. The national railroad offered free transport to the demonstrations and back, the education ministry gave a free day in schools, there are Serb leaders from Serbia proper, Bosnia and Kosovo who are massively declaring how "Kosovo is a part of Serbia" and declaratively calling for peaceful protests, while proclaiming understanding towards the violent outbursts (border post burning, etc.).

[FSTargetDrone]

I just want to interject here, Netko, it's quite interesting to get the perspective of someone actually somewhat close to the affected region. Keep us posted!

[Netko]

Thanks. I try to add a bit more of the local flavour and info into my posts, and with that admittedly I might be tilting my coverage a bit too much towards my neck of the woods (those 2 trucks aren't exactly top news with regards to the current situation). The US coverage, however, the one available online at least, seems atrocious though, for the most part (I was pleasantly surprised by MSNBC's interview with some university professor who laid out the reasons and the dynamics relatively well in an uninterrupted presentation - the rest of their coverage is US-centric crap though) - FOX Noise essentially spent a minute of their 3 minute piece on the subject "informing" their viewers that these events probably aren't tied with Al Qaeda and their plans.

[FSTargetDrone]

Thanks. I try to add a bit more of the local flavour and info into my posts, and with that admittedly I might be tilting my coverage a bit too much towards my neck of the woods (those 2 trucks aren't exactly top news with regards to the current situation). The US coverage, however, the one available online at least, seems atrocious though, for the most part (I was pleasantly surprised by MSNBC's interview with some university professor who laid out the reasons and the dynamics relatively well in an uninterrupted presentation - the rest of their coverage is US-centric crap though) - FOX Noise essentially spent a minute of their 3 minute piece on the subject "informing" their viewers that these events probably aren't tied with Al Qaeda and their plans.

Heh. They also keep pointing out that, <GASP>, an American Flag was burned!

[FSTargetDrone]

Well, apparently a dead body was found in the US embassy:

Protesters burn U.S. embassy in Serbia

Body reportedly found; tension over Kosovo independence

NBC News and news services

updated 14 minutes ago

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serb rioters set fire to an office inside the U.S. Embassy Thursday and police clashed with protesters outside other embassy buildings after an estimated 150,000 people demonstrated against Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Masked men broke into the U.S. compound in Belgrade, which has been closed this week, and tried to throw furniture from an office. They set fire to the office and flames shot up the side of the building.

Serbian media said a charred body was found inside the embassy, but no other information was immediately available.

It could be the body of a rioter, as all of the embassy staff have been acounted for, so says the US Embassy.