UN forced to pull out after violent riots erupt in Kosovo

Mitrovica: Serbian rioters attacked Nato troops in the northern Kosovo flashpoint of Mitrovica on Monday, in the worst violence in the territory since the declaration of independence last month.

Hundreds of rioters clashed with Nato and UN troops, wounding three UN police officers and two Nato soldiers, police said.

Twenty two Polish officers on duty in Kosovo have also been injured in the clashes, according to the Polish police. Fifteen Polish police have been taken to a French-run hospital while the remaining seven are being transported of the area.

None of police officers' injuries from Monday's clashes are critical, the spokesman added.

Meanwhile, France, which also has troops in Kosovo, said three of it soldiers were injured during the clashes.

UN forces have been ordered to pull out following the violence that erupted after hundreds of Serbs opposed to Kosovo's independence protested an eviction from a court building they occupied last week.

The riots were a challenge to the authority of Nato, the United Nations and European Union, highlighting worries of a divided Kosovo, one month after it declared independence from Serbia.

Police and troops attempted to control the riots firing tear gas at protestors, who set cars ablaze, causing several police and troops to be injured in an explosion.

Eight French soldiers were also injured, according to a French spokesman.

UN forces were able to detain protestors, but rioters attacked vehicles that were transporting them, causing some to break free.

This is the region's worst violence since the severance of Kosovo on 17 February, and coincides with the March 17 anniversary of the chaotic Kosovo Albanian riots against Serbs in 2004 which left 19 people dead.