Kosovar special forces were mobilized in towns in Kosovo mainly inhabited by Serbs. In response, Serbia placed its army on high alert.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted update
The Serbian army will remain instate of high alertnear the border with Kosovo, the cabinet of the Serbian president announced on Saturday, the day after the clashes which had broken out between Serbs and the Kosovar police in three predominantly Serb localities. Kosovo police special forces on Friday dispersed Serbs with tear gas who wanted to prevent Albanian mayors, elected in April in a controversial election, from taking office in three predominantly Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo.
Tensions are recurrent in this part of the former Serbian province whose independence, proclaimed in 2008, was not recognized by Belgrade, which encourages Serbs living in Kosovo to challenge the local government. Some 120,000 Serbs live in Kosovo, which has a population of 1.8 million, overwhelmingly Albanian.
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In the wake of these incidents, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday ordered the army to be on alert and “get movingin the direction of the border with Kosovo. On Saturday morning, he chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee which adopted a plan to “security activities (…) aimed at strengthening the defense capabilities of Serbia“, announced the presidency in a press release, adding that “the armed forces of Serbia remain, until further notice, on high alert“. The Serbian army has been placed on alert several times in recent years in similar situations.
However, the Kosovo special forces, which had allowed the new mayors to enter the offices on Friday, remained in place on Saturday, near municipal buildings in Zvecan, Leposlavic and Zubin Potok. These city councilors had been elected in the elections organized by the Kosovo authorities on April 23, a vote boycotted by the Serbs.
The United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany called on Friday, in a press release, the authorities of Kosovoto reconsider their decision immediately“to deploy their special forces, adding to be also”concerned about Serbia’s decision to raise the level of readiness of its armed forces“. NATO called on Saturday “institutions in Kosovo to immediate de-escalation” And “all parties to resolve the situation through dialoguetweeted Alliance spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
In a statement that does not hint at a step backwards, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Saturday that the authorities in Pristina understand “concerns” of their “international partners“, but that “any other option would amount to not fulfilling the constitutional obligations“. “I invite everyone, especially Kosovo Serb citizens, to cooperate with the new mayors and their cabinets, which will be multiethnic, multicultural, multilingual“Kurti wrote on Facebook.