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PODGORICA, Montenegro : Montenegrin police Monday used tear gas to disperse several hundred angry demonstrators at a mass rally against the government's decision to recognise Kosovo's independence, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
At least four people were injured, local media reported.
Earlier some 10,000 pro-Serb opposition supporters rallied to demand that the government of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic to revoke its recognition of an independent Kosovo, a province of Serbia.
But as the protest officially ended, some protesters broke the police cordon in front of the parliament building in downtown Podgorica, throwing stones and breaking windows.
Police then fired tear gas and broke up the crowd.
An AFP reporter saw one policeman and one journalist injured, but Serbia's Radio-Television (RTS) reported that at least two more people were hurt.
Several groups of hooligans continued running throughout the town, breaking windows and setting fire to containers. Dozens of protestors were detained, local media reported.
Police blocked Podgorica's main boulevard Sveti Petar Cetinjski and surrounding streets, cordoning off government buildings.
Montenegro on Thursday recognised the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo despite strong opposition from its former federal partner Serbia and pro-Serb opposition parties in Podgorica.
The protest, called by four opposition parties in favour of closer ties with Serbia, set a deadline on Wednesday at 11 am (0900 GMT) for the government to reject its "illegal decision" and for parliament to call a referendum on whether Montenegro should recognise the independence of Kosovo.
Protesters chanted "Treason, Treason" and "Kosovo is Serbia" as well as slogans against the Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, accusing him of "betraying Kosovo."
"This is the most shameful decision in the history of Montenegro," bishop Amfilohije Radovic of the Serbian Orthodox Church said.
There is a strong Serb community in Montenegro, as more than 30 percent of the 650,000 population declare themselves Serbs.
The city of Podgorica itself separated from Serbia and proclaimed independence in 2006 after a majority of Montenegrins approved an historic referendum.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority unilaterally proclaimed independence in February and has so far been recognised by 50 nations, including the United States and most of EU countries.
The latest to do so were Serbia's neighbours bordering Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia, sparking angry reaction from Belgrade, who in turn asked ambassadors of the two Balkans states to leave Serbia. - AFP/de
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