Yugoslavia Sets Curfew in Kosovo : Ethnic strife: Tanks patrol the streets of the province to prevent clashes between Albanians and Serbians.

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia —  The government imposed a nighttime curfew Wednesday in Kosovo province, where more than two dozen people have died this year in ethnic clashes.

The official Tanjug news agency said Soviet-built tanks and armored personnel carriers patrolled the streets of most Kosovo towns to enforce the 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew.

Tanjug said Yugoslav authorities decided Tuesday that the curfew is needed “to defend the constitutional order and prevent violence.”

MIG-21 fighters streaked at low altitude over several towns, and small groups of heavily armed soldiers patrolled villages, sources in the region said.

Thousands of Serbs had rallied for three days in Kosovo Polje, a suburb of the provincial capital of Pristina, demanding a curfew and protesting what they claimed were threats by ethnic Albanian “separatists and terrorists.”

Ethnic Albanians make up 90% of the population in Kosovo, a province of the Serbian republic. They oppose moves by Serbian leaders to more tightly control the province.

One person died Tuesday and dozens were injured in clashes between security forces and tens of thousands of ethnic Albanian demonstrators demanding free elections, an end to a year-old state of emergency and the release of political prisoners.

Since January, 28 ethnic Albanians have been killed in ethnic unrest, according to official figures. The same number were killed in all of last year.

During the curfew, “movements and gatherings of people for the purpose of demonstrating” were strictly forbidden, said Belgrade Radio.

Some small protests were reported during the day, mainly involving ethnic Albanian schoolchildren and youths who taunted riot police in several towns.

A journalist who spoke by telephone from the region said nearly all ethnic Albanian students boycotted classes and at least 30,000 workers continued a two-week-old strike to protest what they described as “police repression.”

Serbian students at Pristina University demanded that authorities “guarantee their safety” from ethnic Albanians, Tanjug said.

The students also demanded that all university officials who supported past demonstrations by Albanian students be fired and threatened to “continue their education outside the province” if the demands are not met, Tanjug said.

The students also want authorities to jail the leaders of seven new opposition movements. The Serbs accused the students of inciting demonstrations and strikes by ethnic Albanians last month.