KFOR COMMANDER AND UN ADMINISTRATOR ON SITUATION IN KOSOVO

PRISTINA, March 18 (Hina) - Commanders of units within the Kosovo Force (KFOR) were given instructions to use proportional force necessary to ensure the safety of soldiers in peace-keeping units, protect civilians and re-establish freedom of movement throughout Kosovo, the KFOR chief commander, German General Holger Kammerhoff, said on Thursday.#L# All citizens of Kosovo, primarily the thousands of Albanians who are attacking KFOR, police and Serb enclaves and Orthodox churches, should be aware of KFOR's determination, Kammerhoff warned. He also confirmed that the commander of NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe, Admiral Gregory Johnson, decided to send reserve NATO forces to help restore stability and security in Kosovo. UN Civilian Administrator in Kosovo Harri Holkeri, who held a news conference together with the KFOR commander, urged media and politicians not to use inflammatory speech. We are deeply shaken as according to available information, confirmed this morning, 22 persons lost their lives and almost 500 were injured, including 21 police officers and 11 KFOR soldiers, Holkeri said pointing the finger at politicians who justified violence. Kammerhoff called on leaders of all communities in Kosovo to condemn violence and exert their influence so as to defuse the situation. Later in the day, a spokesman for the police of UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Derek Cappell, said that the death toll of the riots was 22 and that 600 people were injured. One of those killed in the riots was a French member of KFOR who lost his life in Mitrovica. Of 600 wounded, 20 are in critical condition, he said. (Hina) ms sb