Unrest in Zvecan
Serbia transfers soldiers to the border with Kosovo – Western countries “concerned”
Kosovan police officers at an intersection in the town of Zvecan, where a clash with Serb demonstrators broke out.
© AFP
After clashes between Serbs and police in a town in Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has put his country’s army on standby. Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and the USA are calling for calm.
Germany and several other Western countries have expressed “concern” about Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s order to send soldiers to the Kosovo border. The Federal Republic of Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and the USA called on all parties to “maximum restraint” after the unrest on Friday. They also appealed to Kosovo to calm the situation.
Serbian army on alert
Vucic had put the army on high alert, as reported by state broadcaster RTS. He was reacting to clashes in northern Kosovo between Serbs and the police.
Ethnic Serbs protested on Friday against the assumption of mayoral posts by ethnic Albanians. The Kosovan police then used tear gas in the Serbian-majority town of Zvecan to push back the demonstrators, a reporter from the AFP news agency observed.
Around ten people were injured and taken to a hospital in the city of Mitrovica, said the deputy head of the hospital, Danica Radomirovic, according to Kosovar media. According to police, five officers were injured and several cars damaged. The police said they helped the newly elected mayors with the transfer of office.
RTS reported that the Kosovan police also used tear gas in other communities. In Leposavic, Serbs have started to set up roadblocks as a sign against the events.
Local elections in Kosovo lead to tensions
In April, the Kosovar authorities held local elections in four Serb-majority towns. However, the Serbs largely boycotted the elections, allowing the Albanian minority to take control of local councils despite an overall turnout of less than 3.5 percent.
The process of appointing mayors has recently started. The country thus ignored warnings from the EU and the USA.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken strongly condemned the move to appoint the mayors despite warnings from Brussels and Washington. “These actions have drastically and unnecessarily exacerbated tensions,” said Blinken. They would have undermined US efforts to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia and would “have consequences for our bilateral relations with Kosovo”.
Kosovo, a country of 1.8 million people with a majority Albanian population, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade still regards it as a Serbian province to this day. About 120,000 Serbs live in Kosovo.