BRITISH TAKE OVER NEW KOSOVO DUTIES.(MAIN)

Byline: CARLOTTA GALL New York Times

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia -- British peacekeeping forces took over guard duties on a bridge in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo Thursday, replacing French troops that had been accused of failing to protect ethnic Albanians and Serbs.

The arrival of the British, some 150 men from the Royal Green Jackets regiment who are based in central Kosovo, is the latest attempt by peacekeepers to ensure security and reduce tension in the area that was the scene of bloody riots last week. During an all-night rampage, angry Serbs took to the streets in retaliation for the deaths of two Serbs who had been killed in a …