Serbs, Albanians Exchange Fire In Kosovo Town

Automatic shots were heard but no one is injured. The situation now is under control.

Young Serbs and Albanians exchanged gunfire on Thursday in the ethnically divided Kosovan town of Mitrovica but no one was wounded, officials said.

Tensions have remained high between the ethnic Albanian majority and Serb minority since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February, nine years after a NATO bombing campaign halted the killings of civilians.

"Automatic shots were heard but no one is injured. The situation now is under control," said Besim Hoti, a police spokesperson in Mitrovica.

United Nations police and NATO troops with armoured personnel carriers ended the skirmish. No arrests were made, police added.

Kosovo has been recognized by 51 countries, many of them European states. Backed by Moscow and Belgrade, some 100,000 Serbs still living in Kosovo oppose the secession.