Jordan Times
Monday, April 19, 2004
Government awaiting results of
UN probe into Kosovo shoot-out
By Khalid Dalal
AMMAN, April 19 - The government on Sunday said it was awaiting the results of a
UN probe into a shoot-out between Jordanian and US peacekeepers in Kosovo late
Saturday.
International officials in Kosovo were quoted by news agencies as saying that
Jordanian UN policeman Ahmad Mustafa Ibrahim Ali suddenly opened fire on a group
of UN officers, killing two Americans before he was shot and killed. An
Australian and 10 Americans were reportedly wounded. A US official in the UN
police told reporters that the shooting was triggered by a quarrel over the
conflict in Iraq.
Minister of State and Government Spokesperson Asma Khader, who expressed “deep
regret and shock” over the shoot-out, said: “If news reports from Kosovo were
accurate, then it was an individual act that should not negatively affect the
360 Jordanian peacekeepers serving there.”
Khader added that a high-ranking Jordanian officer is now in Kosovo to follow up
on the incident and to bring the body of Ali back to the Kingdom.
She explained that four Jordanian UN police officers were interrogated as part
of the investigation. She gave no further details.
“Jordanians serving under the UN peacekeeping missions throughout the world are
internationally recognized for their high performance and commitment and what
happened in Kosovo will not change such a fact,” the minister told The Jordan
Times.
The shoot-out took place in Kosovska Mitrovica, a city in northern Kosovo that
has long been the scene of ethnic violence between Serbs and ethnic Albanians,
including riots that broke out a month ago, killing 19 and injuring 900.