DAY OF MOURNING IN KOSOVO, SITUATION CALM

PRISTINA, March 22 (Hina) - The authorities in Kosovo proclaimed Monday a day of mourning for the victims of last week's violent clashes between local Albanians and Serbs. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is expected to visit Pristina during the day and his visit is part of efforts to normalise life and establish peace and order in the province. The EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, is expected in the province on Wednesday.#L# The association of Pristina University students has called on Kosovo residents to pay tribute to the victims of the latest clashes by turning off the light and lighting candles between 7 and 8 pm today. There were no reports of new incidents in the province in the last 48 hours and the situation is slowly returning to normal as international and local officials continue urging respect for the law and order. UN Civil Administrator Harri Holkeri and Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi today visited Serb families in the Pristina neighbourhood of Ulipana and said that the Kosovo government would help rebuild religious buildings and houses destroyed in the incidents. Holkeri and Rexhepi also visited Lipljane, a village some 15 kilometres south of Pristina, which was severely damaged in the incidents. The NATO-led peace forces are patrolling towns and villages throughout the province. Kosovska Mitrovica, Gnjilane, Vitine and Urosevac, the sites of the worst clashes, are still under curfew. The 17,000-strong KFOR has been joined by 2,000 fresh troops sent from different countries to help keep peace in the province. (Hina) rml