LAST UPDATE | 30 May 2023
THE SITUATION IN Kosovo remains tense today after last night’s clashes which injured 30 peacekeeping soldiers as the EU’s foreign policy chief calls for calm.
Earlier today EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to immediately de-escalate tensions, after “absolutely unacceptable” clashes in northern Kosovo.
He said he had spoken to Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Alexander Vucic to tell them to avoid any “further unilateral action”.
“I asked both parties to urgently take measures to de-escalate tensions immediately and unconditionally,” he said.
Violence sparked by disputed municipal elections left 30 soldiers from a NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force injured on Monday after clashes with ethnic Serbs protesters.
NATO has announced that it is to move extra troops into the area.
There are 13 Irish troops based in Kosovo and are working in the mission’s headquarters – the Irish Defence Forces said they were safe.
Borrell said he had spoken to Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Alexander Vucic to tell them to avoid any “further unilateral action”.
“I asked both parties to urgently take measures to de-escalate tensions immediately and unconditionally,” he said.
Borrell said Kosovo’s authorities needed to suspend police operations focused on municipal buildings in north Kosovo and ethnic Serb protesters should stand down.
He warned that the EU was “discussing possible measures to be taken if the parties continue to resist proposed steps towards de-escalation.”
Serbs, who account for about six percent of Kosovo’s population, boycotted last month’s elections in northern towns where they are in a majority, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a minuscule turnout of under 3.5 percent of voters.
Many Serbs are demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo police forces, as well as the ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their representatives.
Tensions flared after Serbs tried to force their way into the Zvecan town hall yesterday, but were repelled as Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
NATO peacekeepers tried to separate protesters from the police, but later started to disperse the crowd using shields and batons. Protesters responded by hurling rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers.
The protesters dispersed during the afternoon but vowed to rally again early tomorrow morning.
“We, as citizens of municipalities with a Serb majority, do not want tensions, but peace. It clearly suits someone else to create chaos and bring unrest to our area,” local Serb official Srdjan Milosavljevic told reporters.
NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg while in Oslo today said he “strongly condemned” the attacks on peacekeepers, adding, “such attacks are unacceptable and must stop”.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade and its allies Beijing and Moscow have refused to recognise it, effectively preventing Kosovo from having a seat at the United Nations.
Serbs in Kosovo remain largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north, where they make up a majority and reject every move by Pristina to consolidate its control over the region.
Reports on the ground said that the situation in northern Kosovo remained tense today as ethnic Serbs continued to gather in front of a town hall in Zvecan after violent clashes with NATO-led peacekeepers left 30 soldiers injured.
The NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers wearing full riot gear have put a metal barrier around the municipal building in Zvecan and are stopping several hundred Serbs from entering, an AFP journalist at the scene said.
Three armoured vehicles of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo police remained parked in front of the town hall.
KFOR had said the 30 hurt peacekeepers – from Hungary and Italy, according to their governments – had injuries including “fractures and burns from improvised explosive incendiary devices”.
Serbs are demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo police forces, as well as the ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their true representatives.
Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said 52 demonstrators were hurt, three of them “seriously”. Five Serbs were arrested for taking part in the clashes, according to Kosovo police.
KFOR said the soldiers responded “to the unprovoked attacks of a violent and dangerous crowd” whilst carrying out its mandate in an impartial manner.
“To avoid the clashes between the parties and to minimise the risk of the escalation, KFOR peacekeepers prevented threats to the lives of Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians,” KFOR said.
“Both parties need to take full responsibility for what happened and prevent any further escalation, rather than hide behind false narratives.”
Kosovo police have described the situation in the north as “fragile but calm”, and called citizens “not to fall prey to calls for violent protests and provocations.
“The security situation in the north of the country has escalated and degraded to the point of endangering people’s lives,” police said.
Russia, Serbia’s traditional ally, accused the West of “deceitful propaganda”, saying the Serbs had been “trying to defend their legitimate rights and freedom peacefully”.
After last month’s election boycott, the EU and United States urged Kosovo’s prime minister not to install the newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors, but he went ahead.
Vucic met earlier today in Belgrade with ambassadors of the so-called Quint, five powerful NATO members that focus on the Western Balkans, but also announced meetings with representatives of Russia and China.
“One-sided moves from Pristina bring violence against Serb community, which distances us from lasting peace and stability in the region,” Vucic wrote on Instagram after the meeting with Western diplomats.
“Swift withdrawal of false mayors and members of Pristina’s so-called special forces is a condition of preserving peace in Kosovo.”
NATO strongly condemned the attacks against KFOR troops, adding that such actions were “totally unacceptable”.
A total of 19 wounded soldiers belonged to a Hungarian KFOR contingent. Four of them needed hospital treatment “due to shrapnel injuries” and one soldier needed to be operated on, but “none of them is in a life-threatening condition,” Hungarian ambassador to Pristina Jozsef Bencze said.
Belgrade placed its army on high alert last week when tensions flared, and ordered forces towards the frontier with Kosovo.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and Belgrade and its allies Beijing and Moscow have refused to recognise it, effectively preventing Kosovo from having a seat at the United Nations.
Serbs in Kosovo remained largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north, where they make up a majority and reject every move by Pristina to consolidate its control over the region.
The dispute between Serbia and Kosovo go back centuries with Serbian nationals believing the region is the heart of its statehood and religion.
Serb view a 1389 battle against Ottoman Turks as key step in their national identity.
The flashpoint originates from Kosovo’s majority ethnic Albanians believing Kosovo as their country and accuse Serbia of occupation and repression. Ethnic Albanian groups launched an uprising in 1998 to remove Serbian rule.
The Serbian Government’s violent response prompted a NATO intervention in 1999 with a bombing raid and ground troops. This forced Serbia to pull out and cede control to international peacekeepers.
With reporting from Niall O’Connor and Lauren Boland in Brussels
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