A memorial service held early Tuesday in the church of St. Dimitrije in Mitrovica, northern Kosovo, marked the start of commemorations of the 16th anniversary of the onset of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

The service was attended by citizens, officials of the government Office for Kosovo-Metohija, officials of northern Kosovo municipalities and the head of the Kosovska Mitrovica District Vaso Jelic.

After the memorial service, wreathes and flowers were laid at the Truth memorial, situated near the main bridge on the River Ibar in Mitrovica.

BELGRADE -- Serbia is on Tuesday marking the 16th anniversary since the beginning of NATO's air war against the country, then a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The attacks lasted for 11 weeks and resulted in the deaths of between 1,200 and 4,000 people, according to different sources.

NATO caused heavy damage to Serbia's infrastructure, economy, schools, health institutions, media outlets, monuments of culture.

Marko Djuric, head of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, stated on Monday that people in Kosovo should not be misguided that Serbia will recognize the independence of its southern province.

“The process of normalization (of relations) is irreversible, and constant delusion about Serbia's recognition of the independence of KiM is a reflection of political immaturity and a worrying lack of focus on real problems in KiM - unemployment, corruption and bad international relations,” Djuric told Tanjug.

Two people suffered minor injuries in an incident that took place in northern Kosovska Mitrovica's Brdjani neighbourhood on Wednesday. 

Two men - an ethnic Albanian and a Serb - were lightly injured in an incident that involved another Serb man, regional Kosovo police chief Zeljko Bojic said. 

In a statement to the local Kontakt Plus radio, he said that a window on an excavator operated by an ethnic Albanian was broken in the incident. 

Mayor of Mitrovica North, Goran Rakic called the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo to suspend the sale of premises, which belong to the company LUX in this city.

Privatisation Agency of Kosovo informed the municipality on March 9 that by the end of this month the privatization tender would be announced for nine premises of this company, increasing the number of the business premises to around 30, for the so-called privatization, in the last 15 days.

Shops are located in the central places in Mitrovica.

Healthcare employees in northern Kosovo areas with a Serb majority have stopped working for an hour in protest against the poor security situation there and violations of their human rights.

Doctors saw only urgent patients during the protest on Wednesday.

The protest was organised in reaction to a threat by the police that they would arrest two doctors unless they performed an autopsy on the body of the tragically deceased Dusanka Andrejevic, for which the order was issued in Albanian.

Djuric made the announcement after meeting with representatives of Serbs from Kosovo, attended and by the Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, adding that the next week will be held an emergency meeting with the representatives of the Serbian municipalities, to discuss actions after dismissal of Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic and "political humiliation of Serbian people."