Protesters set fire to U.S. embassy in Belgrade

Protesters gather in front of the Serbian government building during a mass protest rally against Kosovo's declaration of independence in Belgrade, February 21, 2008.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Scores of protesters broke into the U.S. embassy in Belgrade on Thursday and set some rooms on fire in protest at Kosovo's independence.

Police were not protecting the building which had been closed and boarded up after rioters stoned it earlier in the week. Black smoke billowed out of the embassy.

Papers and chairs were thrown out of the windows, with doors wedged in the window frames and burning.

One protester climbed up to the first floor of the building, ripped the Stars and Stripes off its pole and briefly put up a Serbian flat in its place.

Some protesters jumped up and down on the embassy balcony, holding up a Serbian flag as the crowd below of about 1,000 people cheered them on, shouting "Serbia, Serbia".

The storming of the building came during a state-backed rally to protest at Kosovo's secession on Sunday attended by some 200,000 people, which was otherwise peaceful.

The rioters were mainly young men, some of whom wore balaclavas and scarves to hide their faces.

They had attacked the building with sticks and metal bars and destroyed two guard boxes outside.

Protesters ripped some metal grilles from the embassy windows and also tore a handrail off the building's entrance and used it as a battering ram against the main door.