Fears of a wider conflict have increased in southern Serbia after three policemen were killed in an explosion believed to have been caused by two anti-tank mines planted on a dirt road. Albanian militants are thought to be responsible.
The attack in Lucane, Yugoslavia, comes two days after a bomb attack on a buskilled seven people and injured another 43. Casualties are expected to rise as at least six of those on the bus have notbeen accounted for. Those missing includetwo drivers and several children.
It is understood the policemen's vehicle hit two anti-tank mines in the village of Lucane which is in the buffer zone seperating Kosovo from Serbia. The officers were delivering food to police in the area when they hit the mines.The explosion destroyed the officers' vehicle and left a crater a metre deep and almost three metres wide.
The attack came as Serbia observed a national day of mourning in memory of victims of Friday's bus bombing. The commander of British peacekeepers in the region suggested the bombing was a clear sign that Albanian militants do not want to negotiate with the Serbian government or anyone else on a peace plan submitted to NATO last week by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic.
NATO has been accused of failing to protect Serbs from the violence perpetrated by Albanians since the NATO intervention in southern Serbia.
