Jordan Times
Friday, May 21, 2004
Policeman held over Kosovo
shooting
PRISTINA (AFP) — A policeman, held over a shooting incident between
international UN officers in Kosovo which left three dead, has been released, a
United Nations official said on Wednesday.
The Jordanian was freed without charge after
being questioned for "assistance to murder and serious bodily harm," following
the April 17 incident in which two US officers and a Jordanian officer were
killed, UN police spokesman Neeraj Singh told a press conference.
The man was among four policeman detained after the leader of their police unit
— who was killed in the gunfight — opened fire on a convoy of US officers at a
prison in the north of the Serbian province.
The three other officers were released earlier this month after they were
cleared of failure to provide assistance to people in danger.
"The international public prosecutor has concluded that the incident has been
thoroughly investigated and that there are no reasonable suspicions that any of
the four Jordanian officers has committed any offence," Singh said.
All four were stripped of their immunity after the shooting in order to enable
investigators to question them in relation to the incident.
It was not immediately clear whether the officers would continue with their
mission or be repatriated after being cleared in the affair.
Unofficial reports — denied by the UN — initially suggested that the shoot-out
had been sparked by an argument over the US-led occupation of Iraq.
More than 3,000 international police officers are on duty in Kosovo as are
20,000 troops belonging to the NATO peacekeeping force, KFOR.