Exit Festival Fortress Damaged As War Rumours Return

City authorities in Novi Sad, Serbia launched an investigation this week after mystery contractors removed over 100 metres of the ramparts of Petrovaradin fortress, the venue of the annual Exit Music Festival.
A police spokesman said 'only skilled workers could have done it," according to press reports, though Novi Sad's conservation body and the local council both denied any involvement. (Balkan Investigative Reporting Unit)

The incident occurred days after the Guardian published an article warning that escalating tension over Kosovo could lead to war in the Balkans starting again in the coming months.

The British newspaper referred to reports that militias throughout the region continue to have access to 'large caches of arms' and quoted Hans Hans-Jochen Witthau, commander of EU troops who claimed that 'the entire Western Balkans is still a fragile and unstable region'.

"12 years after a war that cost 100,000 lives and displaced millions, the
Bosnian nightmare is returning to haunt the chancelleries of Europe," the
Guardian added.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/simon_tisdall/2007/11/running_out_of_time_in_kosovo.html ('Running out of time in Kosovo; As western diplomats scramble to maintain talks on the status of the province, the Bosnian nightmare returns to haunt proceedings': check the comments for more on the complexity of the issue)

http://www.birn.eu.com/en/113/15/5901 (Balkan Investigative Reporting Unit)

Jonty Skrufff Tags

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• Exit Festival Fortress Damaged As War Rumours Return