Kosovo bulletin

15 die as refugees return; Russian troops8217; role unclear

PRISTINA: At least 15 people died violent deaths in a period of 24 hours in Kosovo up to Saturday, underlining the perils that remained as record numbers of ethnic Albanians continued to stream home. Three of the dead were Serb academics whose corpses were found at Pristina University. They had been murdered, NATO officers in the KFOR peacekeeping force said. Some 50,000 exiles flooded back into the province on Thursday alone, bringing to more than 300,000 the number who have gone home since NATO troops began their peacekeeping role, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR in Geneva said on Friday. Meanwhile, statements by Russian government and military officials showed the continuing divergences between Moscow and NATO despite last week8217;s agreement for Russian troops to operate alongside NATO soldiers in KFOR.