Fatigued top UN envoy to Kosovo hospitalized in France

The top United Nations envoy to Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, was admitted to hospital in Strasbourg, France, last night suffering from fatigue due to his heavy work schedule.

Mr. Holkeri, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative, is expected to remain in hospital on his doctors' advice for a few days for further observation, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) announced today.

Just two days ago Mr. Holkeri told the Security Council that a wave of violence between Kosovo's ethnic Albanians and Serbs in March, in which 19 people were killed and nearly 1,000 injured over days of rioting, shook the UN mission "to its foundations" but it remained resolute in its task to help prepare the province for self-governance.

The UN took over administration of Kosovo nearly five years ago when NATO forced the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops after fighting between the province's Albanian and Serb communities.