Kosovo: Mitrovica displaced returning

Many of the 5,500 displaced people who fled the Kosovska Mitrovica region north of Pristina last week have been returning to their homes, after police withdrew from the area over the weekend. Most of the 3,600 residents of Sipolje, which is on the outskirts of Mitrovica, have gone back to their houses. Shops in Sipolje which had been closed since last week have re-opened. But UNHCR staff who were in the area yesterday noted that most of the people who had fled the villages of Vaganice and Pirca were still staying in temporary shelter in Prekaz and Ljubovic.

In the Racak/Stimlje area, no military activity was reported yesterday for the fifth day in a row, but as of yesterday there was no significant return movement there. A UNHCR team will visit the area today.