BELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of angry Serbs headed into Belgrade on Thursday for a protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence, raising fears of street violence.
At a Kosovo border checkpoint, hundreds of Serbian army reservists chanting "Kosovo is ours! Kosovo is Serbia!" hurled stones at police and NATO-led peacekeepers as they crossed into Kosovo. Serbs set fire to another border checkpoint earlier this week.
Serbian schools were closed and the state railway company made free trains available to bring protesters to the afternoon rally in Belgrade, which organizers say will demonstrate Serbia's commitment to holding on to the province of 2 million people.
The demonstrators were to rally in front of Serbia's parliament and then march to the Saint Sava Orthodox temple for an evening service.
More than a dozen nations have recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence, which was made on Sunday. They include the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
But the declaration has been rejected by Serbia's government along with the ethnic Serbians who populate northern Kosovo. Russia, China and numerous other nations have also condemned the declaration, saying it sets a precedent that separatist groups around the world will seek to emulate.
There are fears that Thursday's rally could spark renewed rioting by ultra-nationalists who attacked the U.S. Embassy, McDonald's restaurants and other Western interests in the capital earlier this week.
The U.S. Embassy warned American citizens to stay away from the Belgrade rally, saying the event may turn "confrontational and possibly escalate into violence."
"Businesses and organizations with U.S. affiliations may serve as focal points for these demonstrations," a statement said.
The Serbian reservists at the Merdare checkpoint threw rocks and burned tires to create a billowing smoke screen before surging past.
U.N. police said the demonstrators, all army veterans who fought on the Serbian side in Kosovo's 1998-99 war, arrived from the Serbian town of Kursumlija in buses and brought a bulldozer.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw riot police with shields and batons erecting a large steel barrier across the road in an attempt to keep them from getting deeper into Kosovo.
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung visited Kosovo on Thursday and pledged German support in providing troops for the 16,000-strong NATO peacekeeping force and assisting Kosovo's local security forces.
Critics say the attacks in Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia could be a prelude to the silencing of the opposition and pro-Western politicians in the Balkan republic, reminiscent of the era when the country was run by Slobodan Milosevic.
His regime also organized giant rallies by busing in supporters and schoolchildren to demonstrate public support for the wars Serbia waged in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.