NATO escorts Kosovo leaders into tense Serb north

MITROVICA, Serbia, Feb 10 (Reuters) Flown in by NATO helicopter, Kosovo Albanian leaders made a rare trip to the Serb-dominated north today to be briefed on ''security measures'' as the Serbian province edges towards independence.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Agim Ceku were flown to Gate 1 on Kosovo's northern boundary with Serbia proper, NATO and police sources told Reuters.

A NATO spokesman said they also visited NATO's only northern base to be briefed about security provisions.

The mainly Serb slice of Kosovo north of the River Ibar has been off-limits to leaders of the 90-per cent Albanian majority since the 1998-99 war and the withdrawal of Serb forces.

Western powers fear a bid by Serbs in the north to split Kosovo in two if, with Western backing, the territory wins independence from Serbia this year.

Soldiers of NATO's 16,500-strong Kosovo peace force blocked the main road running north from the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, where 10,000 Serbs yesterday demonstrated against a UN plan for eventual independence unveiled this month.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed for 11 weeks to drive out Serb forces accused of killing and expelling Albanian civilians in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.

A UN plan presented last week by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari offers Kosovo a path to independence under European Union supervision. It needs UN Security Council approval to take effect.

Italian carabinieri and UN riot police secured the capital Pristina today ahead of a protest by Kosovo Albanian activists demanding the right to a referendum on independence and rejecting negotiations with Serbia.

The United States and European Union have welcomed the UN plan, but Russian President Vladimir Putin repeated today that any solution must have the backing of both Serbs and Albanians, something Ahtisaari says is virtually impossible.

Serbia opposes independence for what it regards as its medieval heartland.

After months of fruitless talks in Vienna in 2006, a last round of Serb-Albanian consultations is due on February 21.

REUTERS AB RAI1908