Serbia says 56 neo-Nazis held

BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbian police said Monday they had detained 56 neo-Nazis who defied a ban and demonstrated to demand that the contested province of Kosovo remain part of Serbia. The arrests came after clashes broke out between the extremists and anti-fascists holding a counter demonstration.

The extremists from the Nacionalni Stroj (National Guard) group clashed Sunday with an anti-fascist counter demonstration. The neo-Nazis pressed ahead with the protest despite a ban after an outcry by Jewish and other groups. Several people were injured as the extremists hurled stones at the anti-fascists.

The organizers of the anti-fascist gathering accused police Monday of failing to protect them and the opposition criticized the government for being too soft on extremists.

They demanded an explanation from the Interior Minister Dragan Jocic as to why the neo-Nazis were allowed to gather in the northern city of Novi Sad, about 30 miles north of Belgrade.

Kosovo – where ethnic Albanians represent 90 percent of its 2 million people – remains formally part of Serbia. But it has been run by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended a Serbian military crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in the southern province.