UNMIK and KFOR strongly condemned the violence that erupted in Mitrovica on 3 February, killing at least eight civilians. including five Albanians and two Turks. and injuring at least 21.

"UNMIK condemns this extraordinarily vicious outbreak of attacks on civilians," said an UNMIK spokeswoman on 4 February, while also extending sympathies to the victims and their families. "We are trying to help the people of Kosovo to heal their wounds and get on with their lives. Such hatred threatens to derail the progress the people of Kosovo have made in so many areas of their lives since the recent conflict."

"We appeal to the local leaders and to all people of Kosovo to end this cycle of violence, and we wish to express our deep appreciation for those local leaders who have spent many hours and much of the night working to restore calm, in particular Dr. Oliver Ivanovic in northern Mitrovica, and Mr. Bajram Rexhepi and Shyqri Kelmendi on the southern side," she said.

The events and the order in which they took place are still under investigation. At about 9.30 p.m., grenades were thrown into a Serb cafe, wounding 15. A crowd then went on a rampage, breaking into Albanian homes in northern Mitrovica, where up to 4,500 Albanians still live, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Large crowds gathered on both sides of the Ibar River.

Aggressive action was also directed at KFOR soldiers, UNMIK Police and other international staff. Several vehicles of UNMIK Police, UNHCR and other international organizations were destroyed or damaged.

On 4 February, 20 UNMIK Serb local staff were brought home to the northern side of the city, while other UN and agency staff were placed under UNMIK and KFOR protection. UNHCR suspended operations in northern Mitrovica.

The Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, cut short his visit to Japan to visit Mitovica on 6 February. He condemned the violence and vowed that UNMIK would work with KFOR to improve the security situation in the area.

Two people died and five were injured when a bus transporting Serbs from Banja to Mitrovica was hit by an anti-tank rocket around 4 p.m. on 2 February.

"UNMIK deeply deplores the senseless attack on innocent Kosovo residents," said the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Jock Covey.

In New York, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "deeply saddened" by the "heinous" attack.

The bus, a weekly shuttle run by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, was carrying 49 passengers and was escorted by KFOR troops at the time of the attack. The incident occurred near Cubrelj, 15 kilometres southwest of Mitrovica. It was the first time in the history of the recent wars in Yugoslavia in which a UNHCR vehicle was deliberately fired upon, said Mr. Covey.

KFOR medical teams evacuated the victims to the KFOR hospital in Mitrovica. KFOR has begun a search for the perpetrators.

Commercial flights resume: Four commercial airlines are currently operating out of Pristina. s Slatina Airport: Adria Airways from Slovenia, Albanian Airlines and Ada Air from Albania and Avioimpex from Macedonia. Montenegro Airlines will begin servicing Pristina on 12 February, followed by Cross Air from Switzerland and Tyrolean Air from Austria. Negotiations are going on with other airlines interested in opening routes to Kosovo.

Low wheat harvest expected: Kosovo. s winter wheat harvest will be lower than the pre-1990 levels and similar to 1997. 98, at 2.75 tonnes per hectare, the Food and Agriculture Organization reported on 28 January. Wheat is the basic cereal staple of the province and the planning of relief assistance in 2000 will depend greatly on the outcome of the wheat harvest in July, the UN agency said.

Traffic violations: UNMIK Police announced they will begin issuing tickets for traffic violations on 14 February.

Montenegro border tax: As of 4 February, drivers of vehicles importing goods through Montenegro into Kosovo must pay sales and excise taxes just inside the Administrative Boundary Line in the province. The taxes collected are funneled into the Kosovo Consolidated Budget, from which they will be used to fund vital public services and salaries.

Gift to school: An elementary school in Keqekolle, near Pristina, received a donation of school supplies on 4 February. The materials were collected by high school students from Bergen, Germany, who began an aid campaign and received donations from other schools, organizations and private companies. The supplies were shipped to Kosovo with the help of German KFOR and handed to the school by the head of UNMIK. s education section, Ms Steffi Schnoor.

Mobile phones tested: The mobile phone equipment has been installed in a limited area in order to test the network. Pre-paid sim cards and scratch cards are being prepared for sale.

Department co-head named: Kosovo. s Interim Administrative Council on 28 January named Mr. Zef Morina, an engineer and member of Kosovo. s Christian Democratic Party, to co-head the Department of Post and Telecommunications. The UNMIK co-head for the department is Mr. Pascal Copin, head of UNMIK Postal Services and Telecommunications.

Police head pleas for resources: During his visit to UN Headquarters in New York on 2 February, Police Commissioner Sven Frederiksen said that more resources were needed to fight serious crimes in Kosovo. "We are understaffed. We need international police and we need them desperately." He noted that while the authorized strength of the UNMIK Police was 4,780, there were only 1,970 international police deployed in the region to date.

Vehicle registration resumed on 1 February, with only nine vehicles registering. The registration is taking place at the same site, the former Yugopetrol storage area in Dragodan, on the road to Mitrovica. Vehicle holders are asked to register in alphabetical order: last names beginning with A-F on Mondays, G-K on Tuesdays, L-P on Wednesdays, Q-U on Thursdays, V-Z and international organizations on Fridays.

Vehicle holders must provide proof of payment of customs fees for their vehicles. If their customs fees have not been paid, vehicle holders must first go to the UNMIK Customs House to document the value of their vehicle and then pay a 15 per cent customs fee and a 10 per cent sales tax.

The economic situation and opportunities for women in Kosovo were topics on the agenda when the Gender Task Force met in Djakovica on 5 February. About 100 participants. women activists, businesspeople, UN representatives and members of local women. s organizations. gathered to discuss measures to facilitate access to business training and management. Local women. s groups took the opportunity to appeal for increased cooperation between agencies involved in business development. The meeting was organized by the UN Fund for Women and the Women. s Business Association from Djakovica.

UNMIK officials on 31 January met with representatives of the newly established Counsel of Protests, which represents employees of the former National Bank of Kosovo, who allege that UNMIK has violated their rights to work.

A statement issued by UNMIK said the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo (BPK) and the Bank Licensing, Supervision and Regulation Department were established to build a sound and stable banking system consistent with international banking standards. While former employees of the previous bank system were hired by the BPK, "the officers of UNMIK responsible for the banking sector never promised continued employment to personnel of the National Bank of Kosovo."

UNMIK officials advised the former employees to continue to seek out new employment opportunities, adding that many of the bank employees possessed the necessary skills and experience for jobs advertised by the Central Fiscal Authority.

Officials told the former employees UNMIK was also planning to recruit senior and mid-level employees for the various departments of the BPK.

The setting up of the Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS) continued on 4 February with the establishment of the first four Administrative Departments of the JIAS.

The Departments of Education and Science, Health and Social Welfare, Budget and Finance and Local Adminstration were set up by the province. s highest-level adminstrative body. The Interim Administrative Council (IAC) has agreed on the competencies of the different Departments and named co-heads for 10 of the 29 proposed Departments.

The IAC also agreed on the enlarged Kosovo Transitional Council and began discussions on how to ensure compliance with the agreement reached on 15 December that all parallel structures cease to exist once the JIAS becomes operational.

"There still remains a lot of work to do until the JIAS will be fully operational. Kosovo and UNMIK experts are continuing their work on the rapid setting up of the remaining joint Administrative Departments and joint local administrative structures," said an UNMIK statement.

UNMIK Police report that counterfeit deutsche mark notes are in circulation in the Pristina and Lipjan areas.

The problem came to light in Pristina on 1 February, when a deliveryman was paid more than 6,000 deutsche mark in counterfeit money for a load of wood he delivered to clients.

The deliveryman took the money to UNMIK Police, who declared it counterfeit. The 500 deutsche mark notes all had the same serial number, as did the 1,000 deutsche mark notes.What. s on in the regions

Pec

Sixty one mid-level leaders of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) were sworn in at a ceremony at the Pec Theatre on 3 February. The KPC leaders received their letters of appointment and UNMIK identity cards from the Regional Administrator, Mr. Alain Le Roy. KPC Commander General Agim Ceku, KPC Regional Commander Gezim Ostremi, and a KFOR representative were also present on the occasion.

Prizren

Mr. Kadri Kryeziu, the self-appointed president of the Prizren municipal council, on 3 February moved out of his city hall office, which he had occupied since June 1999. The Prizren Regional Administrator had sent Mr. Kryziu a letter requesting him to vacate his office in accordance with the 15 December agreement on the Joint Interim Administrative Structure and the dissolution of parallel structures. The Prizren Municipal Administrator, Mr. Terhi Makynen, moved into the vacated office on 4 February.

Mitrovica

The Mitrovica municipality is the first Kosovo municipality to open a bank account with the Micro Enterprise Bank in Pristina.

Gnjilane

An unidentified suspect shot a Russian KFOR soldier, who was escorting Serb children from their school to the village of Berivojce. The soldier sustained serious injuries, underwent emergency surgery at a KFOR hospital in Kosovo Polje and is now in stable condition. The case is under investigation.

Pristina

A school for Croat, Roma and Goran children opened on 2 February in the village of Janjevo in the Lipljan municipality. The students, who will be sharing the school premises with Albanian children, will now be able to resume their schooling.

Classes also resumed last week in the Branko Radivic School in Obilic, where security concerns had prevented Serbs from sending their children to school. UNMIK, KFOR, the school director and a few teachers worked to reopen the school and KFOR has deployed additional soldiers to ensure security.

UNMIK Police Facts*

Authorized strength: 3,155 Deployed: 1,965

Pristina: 601 Main Headquarters: 213

Pec: 101 Border police: 197

Prizren: 311 Training staff: 32

Mitrovica: 254 Kosovo Police Service: 74

Gnjilane: 182 At training centre: 85**