UN police chief in Kosovo quits

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The UN police commissioner for Kosovo has quit his post after weekend clashes in Pristina which left two people dead.

Kosovo's UN administrator said he had asked Stephen Curtis to step down because of "political accountability".

About 80 people were hurt in Kosovo's worst violence since March 2004.

Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse some 3,000 ethnic Albanians protesting against a UN plan on the future status of the Serbian province.

The two people who died sustained injuries from rubber bullets fired by UN and local police.

UN administrator Joachim Ruecker said he had asked Mr Curtis, the UN head of a 1,800-strong international police force, to resign with immediate effect.

He said that the move did not "prejudge" an investigation that had already been launched into the two deaths.

"The fact that I have asked for his resignation is in the cause of principles and political accountability," Mr Ruecker said.

Mr Curtis, a Briton, later said he had quit "to allay some of the fears that the public has about the police and policing of Kosovo."

"We are at a critical juncture in the history of Kosovo and nothing must be allowed to interfere with conflicts of those involved in this process," he told reporters.

Kosovo's Interior Minister Fatmir Rexhepi resigned on Tuesday over the deaths.

Earlier this month, UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveiled plans for Kosovo's future which recommend a form of self-rule - which is strongly opposed by Serbia.

But many ethnic Albanians - who comprise 90% of Kosovo's two million people - are unhappy that the plan falls short of granting full independence.

A new Serbian parliament is meeting in Belgrade today to discuss the UN plan.

Kosovo has been administered by the UN since 1999, after a Nato bombing campaign drove Serbian troops from the province.