Of course, people got carried away with a rally and it turned into a crimeathon.

Serbian protesters broke into the U.S. Embassy in downtown Belgrade today and set fire to the building during a government-sponsored rally against Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Thirty people were injured, half of them policemen, Dusan Jovanovic of Belgrade's Emergency Hospital told B92 TV.

Several thousand protesters entered the embassy compound at about 7 p.m. local time, set fires and began throwing objects out of the windows. Police stormed the embassy 10 minutes later and flushed them out. The fire was quickly doused.

Police vehicles then chased protesters down the street while firing tear gas. The mob also torched a guardhouse outside the British Embassy, set fire to a car outside the Canadian Embassy and attacked the Croatian Embassy, the TV channel said.

Demonstrators also stormed and damaged Raiffeisen and Uni Kredit banks as well as a McDonald's restaurant in Slavija Square, B92 TV said. People were seen running from a department store with sporting goods, the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. State Department urged the government of Serbia to protect the embassy. The compound was empty except for security personnel and Marine guards when the protesters attacked, said department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Serbia reacted to Kosovo's declaration of independence on Feb. 17 by vowing to reassert authority over the breakaway state, and Russia condemned the unilateral move as a violation of international law. The U.S., U.K. and Germany have recognized Kosovo's new status.

Kosovo is 90 percent ethnic Albanian. Serbs refused to give it up because it is considered the birthplace of their state and faith.