Serbian policeman shot dead in Kosovo province .
BELGRADE 1996-08-29
A policeman has been shot dead in Serbia 's troubled Kosovo province , Serbian police said on Thursday .
It was the fifth attack on police this month in the southern province , a hot spot of ethnic tension where the Albanian majority have boycotted Serbian institutions and set up their own , which are considered illegal by Belgrade .
The slain policeman Ejup Bajgora , 42 , was an Albanian who had served in the Serbian police and state security since 1987 , police told the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug .
He was shot on Wednesday afternoon as he stepped off a bus near his family home in the village of Donje Ljupce in the municipality of Podujevo .
Just hours before Wednesday 's shooting , three hand grenades were thrown at a police station in Celopek .
They caused damage but no casualties , police said .
The Serbian authorities blame Albanian dissidents for the recent spate of attacks .
None of the attackers has been caught .
Kosovo 's autonomy was revoked in 1987 and Serb police forces cracked down on Albanian protests .
Albanian moderates want autonomy restored but hardliners want to join up with neighbouring Albania .
The Serbs , who make up 10 percent of the province 's 1.8 million people , claim Kosovo as the cradle of their culture .