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Thousands in Kosovo protest Serb politician who played down Serbia's role in Kosovo war

Associated Press
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Kosovo police in riot gear secure the main square in Kosovo capital Pristina during a protest on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Kosovo police in riot gear used tear gas to disperse a stone throwing crowd during a demonstration by several thousand people demanding that the government dismiss one of its three Serb ministers, accusing him of insulting the ethnic Albanian majority. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) (The Associated Press)

Protesters throw stones toward police in riot gear guarding the government building in Kosovo, Pristina on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Kosovo police in riot gear used tear gas to disperse a stone throwing crowd during a demonstration by several thousand people demanding that the government dismiss one of its three Serb ministers, accusing him of insulting the ethnic Albanian majority. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) (The Associated Press)

Protesters throw stones toward police in riot gear guarding the government building in Kosovo, Pristina on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Kosovo police in riot gear used tear gas to disperse a stone throwing crowd during a demonstration by several thousand people demanding that the government dismiss one of its three Serb ministers, accusing him of insulting the ethnic Albanian majority. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) (The Associated Press)

Thousands of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo are protesting a minority Serb politician's denial of war crimes against them and demanding the government take over managing the country's crucial mining complex.

Protesters waved Albanian flags and banners Saturday in Pristina, the capital, and called for the dismissal of the Serb Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic, whose comments minimizing Serbia's role in the 1998-99 Kosovo war especially angered families of some 1,000 ethnic Albanians who are still missing. Police said 12,000 people attended the protest.

Jablanovic is part of the governing coalition together with former Kosovo guerrillas who fought a separatist war against Serbia.

The protest comes as over 400 miners from Kosovo's mining complex Trepca want the government to take over the administration of the Yugoslav-era complex to stop it from being liquidated.