The Serbian government fiercely condemned the incident at the barricades near Dudin Krs, in which several dozen civilians and KFOR members were injured, and insists on solving problems through talks, the director of the government's Office for Relations with the Media, Milivoje MIhajlovic, stated on Nov. 24.

KFOR spokesman Uwe Nowicki stated that in the evening of Nov. 23, during the attempt to remove the barricades in the town of Dudin Krs, near Zvecan, 21 KFOR members were injured. He added that KFOR had made a responsible decision to withdraw and abort the operation, in order to prevent an escalation of confrontation and serious casualties on both sides.

The Serbian government urged the local population not to use force and to avoid provocations and incidents, Mihajlovic said.

Nowicki said that the blockade south of Rudare was removed first, without incidents, but that the situation changed at midnight, when more demonstrators gathered at the barricade and when three trucks were brought.

The demonstrators used force - they threw stones at KFOR troops and pushed them with a truck, loaded with gravel, Nowicki said, adding that this had forced KFOR to fire warning shots into the air and use tear gas and truncheons to protect themselves from the demonstrators.