The NATO-led security forces claimed that, 25 of its men suffered injuries in an escalations with ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, after attempting to take over the administrative facilities of one of the towns where ethnic Albanian mayors assumed office recently.
The Serbs battled with NATO forces and Kosovo police in Zvecan, 45 kilometers north of the city. According to reports, the Army used minimum force to defend Kosovar troops, and scatter demonstrators. The fuming Serbs retaliated by hurling rocks and other dangerous objects at them.
“Several soldiers of the Italian and Hungarian KFOR contingent were the subject of unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices,” NATO peacekeepers said in a statement. Some Police vans in Kosovo, as well as one used by journalists, have been vandalized and painted with Serb nationalist insignia.
In a late-night message to the nation, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, he planned to spend the night with his forces on the border with Kosovo, who had been placed on emergency alert. According to him, 52 Serbs were hurt in the fighting, three of them were critically injured, and four were taken into custody.
“The consequences of the clashes are big and grave and the sole culprit is Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti,” said Vucic, referring to the Albanian forces in the north Kosovo as “occupiers.” “I repeat for the last time and I beg the international community to make sure Albin Kurti sees reason,” Vucic said. “If they don’t, I am afraid it will be too late for all of us.”
The clash has been the most recent in a series of incidents in recent times, with Serbia raising its military readiness, and deploying additional troops to the border with Kosovo, which proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008.
International Responds
The United States and the European Union have increased their quest to resolve the Kosovo-Serbia conflict, envisioning more unrest in Europe as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on. The EU has made a commitment to both Serbia and Kosovo that, if they want to become part of the EU, they must improve relations.
On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov labeled the situation in Kosovo as “worrisome,” criticizing the United States and NATO for asserting authority in that region.
“A big explosion is brewing in the heart of Europe, in the very place where, in 1999, NATO carried out aggression against Yugoslavia,” Lavrov claimed, pointing to the NATO-led operation in 1999 that ended a violent Serb assault on ethnic Albanian separatists.
Kosovar Police and the NATO-led Kosovo Force, were seen guarding municipal facilities in the northern towns of Zvecan, Leposavic, Zubin Potok, and Mitrovica, which held early elections last month.
The ethnic Serbs, who make up the majority in certain areas, mostly ignored the elections. Only ethnic Albanians and other minorities were chosen to mayoral positions and assembly.
Ana Brnabic, Prime Minister of Serbia, denounced international response to what happened in Kosovo. She claimed that, KFOR was “not protecting the people, they are protecting the usurpers,” presumably shading the new mayors. “But we must protect the peace. Peace is all we have,” Brnabic stated.
KFOR’s presence has grown in the four northern districts. It advised all parties to avoid measures that could escalate the conflict, and encouraged both “Belgrade and Pristina to engage in the EU-led dialogue.”
U.S. Ambassador Jeff Hovenier spoke with President Vjosa Osmani, and then with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, along with ambassadors from some Western allies, asking him to initiate actions to de-escalate the problem and deflate tensions.
Kosovo-Serbia conflict dates back to 1998, when separatist ethnic Albanians rose against Serbia’s sovereignty, prompting Belgrade to initiate a violent crackdown. Approximately 13,000 people perished, majority of whom were ethnic Albanians.
Serbia was finally compelled to withdraw from the region following NATO’s military intervention in 1999. Although the United States and the majority of EU countries have acknowledged Kosovo as an independent state, Serbia, Russia, and China have not.
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