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  • Tuesday, 24 November 2009
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Ethnic Albanians Protest Planned Kosovo-Serbia Talks

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One hundred ethnic Albanians have protested outside the Kosovo parliament against planned talks with Serbia on the province's future.

The protesters want the mostly ethnic Albanian province to be an independent country. They spilled fake blood on the steps leading to the building, saying it symbolized those who died in the 1998 to 1999 war with Serbia.

The demonstration came one day after Kosovo's Albanian-dominated parliament approved a plan to create a team to talk with Serbia on the province's political status. Kosovo is legally part of Serbia. But it has been under United Nations administration since 1999, when Serbian forces withdrew after a campaign of NATO air strikes aimed at ending Belgrade's crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

The province's Serbian minority and Serbia want it to remain part of Serbia.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.