{"id":7397,"date":"2023-05-29T18:05:57","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T17:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=7397"},"modified":"2025-10-18T08:35:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:35:51","slug":"nato-peacekeepers-face-kosovo-serbs-clashes-to-control-the-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/analysis\/defense\/war\/nato-peacekeepers-face-kosovo-serbs-clashes-to-control-the-region\/2023\/05\/29\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO peacekeepers face Kosovo-Serbs clashes to control the region"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZVEKAN,<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span> Ethnic<\/span> Serbs<\/span> in<\/span> northern<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> were<\/span> attacked<\/span> as<\/span> NATO-led<\/span> peacekeepers<\/span> attempted<\/span> to<\/span> occupy<\/span> the<\/span> offices<\/span> of<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> municipalities<\/span> where<\/span> an<\/span> Albanian<\/span> mayor<\/span> took<\/span> office<\/span> last<\/span> week <\/span>clashed<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> unit.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Clashes <\/span>broke<\/span> out<\/span> between<\/span> Serbs<\/span> and<\/span> police<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> morning<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> city<\/span>,<\/span> 45<\/span> kilometers<\/span> north<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> capital<\/span> Pristina.<\/span> In<\/span> the<\/span> afternoon,<\/span> KFOR<\/span> soldiers<\/span> asked<\/span> the<\/span> Serbs<\/span> to<\/span> clear<\/span> the<\/span> way<\/span> for<\/span> two<\/span> vehicles<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Kosovar<\/span> Special<\/span> Police.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Witnesses<\/span> and<\/span> local<\/span> media<\/span> said<\/span> soldiers<\/span> then<\/span> used<\/span> tear<\/span> gas<\/span> and<\/span> stun<\/span> grenades<\/span> to<\/span> protect<\/span> Kosovar<\/span> officials<\/span> in<\/span> vehicles<\/span> and<\/span> to<\/span> disperse<\/span> protesters.<\/span> The<\/span> assembled<\/span> Serbs<\/span> responded<\/span> by<\/span> throwing<\/span> stones<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> hard<\/span> objects.<\/span> The<\/span> car<\/span> was<\/span> completely<\/span> destroyed,<\/span> but<\/span> injuries<\/span> have<\/span> not<\/span> yet<\/span> been<\/span> confirmed.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Previously,<\/span> journalists<\/span> were<\/span> sent<\/span> to<\/span> public<\/span> buildings<\/span> for<\/span> their<\/span> own<\/span> safety.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> violence<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> latest<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> series<\/span> of<\/span> heightened<\/span> tensions<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> week.<\/span> Serbia<\/span> has<\/span> put<\/span> its<\/span> troops<\/span> on<\/span> high<\/span> alert<\/span> and<\/span> added<\/span> to<\/span> its<\/span> border<\/span> with<\/span> Kosovo,<\/span> which<\/span> declared<\/span> independence<\/span> from<\/span> Belgrade<\/span> in<\/span> 2008.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Kosovo<\/span> and<\/span> Serbia<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> hostile<\/span> for<\/span> decades,<\/span> and<\/span> Belgrade<\/span> refuses<\/span> to<\/span> recognize<\/span> Kosovo’s<\/span> sovereignty.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> European<\/span> Union<\/span> are<\/span> stepping<\/span> up<\/span> efforts<\/span> to<\/span> resolve<\/span> the<\/span> Kosovo-Serbia<\/span> conflict<\/span> amid<\/span> concerns<\/span> that<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> war<\/span> with<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> will<\/span> further<\/span> destabilize<\/span> the<\/span> European<\/span> situation.<\/span> The<\/span> EU<\/span> has<\/span> made<\/span> it<\/span> clear<\/span> to<\/span> both<\/span> Serbia<\/span> and<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> that<\/span> they<\/span> need<\/span> to<\/span> normalize<\/span> relations<\/span> in<\/span> order<\/span> to<\/span> move<\/span> forward<\/span> towards<\/span> EU<\/span> membership.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Monday,<\/span> the<\/span> Kosovar<\/span> Police<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> NATO-led<\/span> Kosovar<\/span> Army<\/span> (KFOR)<\/span> were<\/span> seen<\/span> guarding<\/span> buildings<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> four<\/span> northern<\/span> municipalities<\/span> of<\/span> Zvekan,<\/span> Reposavi\u0107,<\/span> Zvin<\/span> Potok<\/span> and<\/span> Mitrovica,<\/span> which<\/span> held<\/span> early<\/span> elections<\/span> last<\/span> month.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> vote<\/span> was<\/span> largely<\/span> boycotted<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> majority<\/span> Serbs<\/span> in<\/span> these<\/span> regions.<\/span> Only<\/span> Albanian<\/span> or<\/span> other<\/span> ethnic<\/span> minority<\/span> representatives<\/span> were<\/span> elected<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> mayoral<\/span> office<\/span> and<\/span> parliament.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Police<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> Serbs<\/span> had<\/span> gathered<\/span> early<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> morning<\/span> at<\/span> three<\/span> town<\/span> halls:<\/span> Zvekan,<\/span> Reposavi\u0107<\/span> and<\/span> Zvin<\/span> Potok,<\/span> but<\/span> not<\/span> Mitrovica<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> north.<\/span> They<\/span> tried<\/span> to<\/span> invade<\/span> Zbekan<\/span> using<\/span> force<\/span> and<\/span> tear<\/span> gas.<\/span> Police<\/span> responded<\/span> with<\/span> tear<\/span> gas<\/span> spray,<\/span> the<\/span> statement<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Serbian<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Ana<\/span> Brnavic<\/span> has<\/span> criticized<\/span> the<\/span> international<\/span> response<\/span> to<\/span> events<\/span> in<\/span> Kosovo,<\/span> citing<\/span> the<\/span> new<\/span> mayor<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> clear<\/span> way<\/span> that<\/span> KFOR<\/span> “does<\/span> not<\/span> protect<\/span> the<\/span> people,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> usurpers”.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“But<\/span> we<\/span> have<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> the<\/span> peace.<\/span> All<\/span> we<\/span> have<\/span> is<\/span> peace,”<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Milos<\/span> Vucevic<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> Serbian<\/span> army<\/span> will<\/span> complete<\/span> the<\/span> deployment<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> decision<\/span> to<\/span> raise<\/span> the<\/span> alert<\/span> level.<\/span> Vucevic,<\/span> who<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> wanted<\/span> a<\/span> political<\/span> solution,<\/span> also<\/span> criticized<\/span> KFOR’s<\/span> position<\/span> “appearing<\/span> to<\/span> protect<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> from<\/span> unarmed<\/span> people”.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> Goran<\/span> Raki\u0107,<\/span> a<\/span> Serbian<\/span> local<\/span> politician,<\/span> Serbs<\/span> want<\/span> the<\/span> new<\/span> mayors,<\/span> whom<\/span> they<\/span> called<\/span> “illegal<\/span> and<\/span> illegal<\/span> sheriffs”,<\/span> to<\/span> resign<\/span> and<\/span> resign,<\/span> and<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> special<\/span> police<\/span> to<\/span> withdraw<\/span> from<\/span> northern<\/span> Kosovo.<\/span><\/p>\n

KFOR<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> increasing<\/span> its<\/span> presence<\/span> in<\/span> four<\/span> municipalities,<\/span> including<\/span> Mitrovica.<\/span> He<\/span> called<\/span> on<\/span> states<\/span> to<\/span> refrain<\/span> from<\/span> actions<\/span> that<\/span> could<\/span> lead<\/span> to<\/span> escalation<\/span> and<\/span> called<\/span> on<\/span> “both<\/span> Belgrade<\/span> and<\/span> Pristina<\/span> to<\/span> join<\/span> the<\/span> EU-led<\/span> dialogue.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>After<\/span> meeting<\/span> with<\/span> Kosovar<\/span> President<\/span> Vijosa<\/span> Osmani<\/span> on<\/span> Monday,<\/span> U.S.<\/span> Ambassador<\/span> Jeff<\/span> Hovenia<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> avoid<\/span> situations<\/span> in<\/span> which<\/span> officials<\/span> from<\/span> Western<\/span> countries<\/span> such<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.,<\/span> France,<\/span> Italy,<\/span> Germany<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> U.K.<\/span> “forcibly<\/span> enter<\/span> public<\/span> buildings.”<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>He<\/span> and<\/span> EU<\/span> ambassador<\/span> Thomas<\/span> Schnyog<\/span> met<\/span> with<\/span> two<\/span> mayors<\/span> of<\/span> northern<\/span> municipalities<\/span> to<\/span> discuss<\/span> “how<\/span> we<\/span> will<\/span> carry<\/span> out<\/span> our<\/span> duties<\/span> to<\/span> serve<\/span> all<\/span> our<\/span> citizens”.<\/span> The<\/span> other<\/span> two<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> attend<\/span> the<\/span> informal<\/span> meeting.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>More<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> dozen<\/span> Serbs<\/span> and<\/span> five<\/span> Kosovar<\/span> police<\/span> officers<\/span> were<\/span> injured<\/span> in<\/span> clashes<\/span> last<\/span> Friday.<\/span> On<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> day,<\/span> Serb<\/span> forces<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> border<\/span> were<\/span> put<\/span> on<\/span> high<\/span> alert.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> ethnic<\/span> Serb<\/span> majority<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> region<\/span> of<\/span> northern<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> tried<\/span> to<\/span> bar<\/span> the<\/span> newly<\/span> elected<\/span> Albanian<\/span> officials<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> city<\/span> buildings.<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> police<\/span> used<\/span> tear<\/span> gas<\/span> to<\/span> disperse<\/span> the<\/span> crowd<\/span> and<\/span> let<\/span> new<\/span> officers<\/span> into<\/span> the<\/span> office.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> US<\/span> and<\/span> EU<\/span> condemned<\/span> the<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> government’s<\/span> use<\/span> of<\/span> police<\/span> forces<\/span> to<\/span> enter<\/span> buildings<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> city.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Serbia<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> stand<\/span> still<\/span> if<\/span> Serbs<\/span> are<\/span> attacked<\/span> in<\/span> northern<\/span> Kosovo,”<\/span> Serbian<\/span> President<\/span> Alexander<\/span> Vucic<\/span> said<\/span> Friday<\/span> night<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> rally<\/span> in<\/span> Belgrade<\/span> with<\/span> his<\/span> supporters.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> any<\/span> attempt<\/span> by<\/span> Serbia<\/span> to<\/span> send<\/span> troops<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> border<\/span> would<\/span> mean<\/span> conflict<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> NATO-led<\/span> forces<\/span> stationed<\/span> there.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> 2013<\/span> agreement<\/span> between<\/span> Pristina<\/span> and<\/span> Belgrade<\/span> to<\/span> establish<\/span> a<\/span> Serbian<\/span> association<\/span> was<\/span> later<\/span> ruled<\/span> unconstitutional<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> Constitutional<\/span> Court.<\/span> The<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> Constitutional<\/span> Court<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> plan<\/span> does<\/span> not<\/span> include<\/span> other<\/span> ethnic<\/span> groups<\/span> and<\/span> may<\/span> involve<\/span> the<\/span> exercise<\/span> of<\/span> executive<\/span> powers<\/span> to<\/span> enforce<\/span> the<\/span> law.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> have<\/span> tentatively<\/span> agreed<\/span> to<\/span> back<\/span> the<\/span> EU’s<\/span> plans<\/span> on<\/span> how<\/span> to<\/span> proceed,<\/span> but<\/span> tensions<\/span> remain<\/span> simmering.<\/span> The<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> conflict<\/span> erupted<\/span> in<\/span> 1998,<\/span> when<\/span> separatist<\/span> Albanians<\/span> rebelled<\/span> against<\/span> Serbian<\/span> rule<\/span> and<\/span> Serbia<\/span> responded<\/span> with<\/span> brutal<\/span> repression.<\/span> About<\/span> 13,000<\/span> people,<\/span> mostly<\/span> Albanians,<\/span> died.<\/span> The<\/span> 1999<\/span> NATO<\/span> military<\/span> intervention<\/span> eventually<\/span> forced<\/span> Serbia<\/span> to<\/span> withdraw<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> territory.<\/span> Washington<\/span> and<\/span> most<\/span> EU<\/span> countries<\/span> recognize<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> as<\/span> an<\/span> independent<\/span> state,<\/span> but<\/span> Serbia,<\/span> Russia<\/span> and<\/span> China<\/span> do<\/span> not.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ZVEKAN, Kosovo (AP) – Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo were attacked as NATO-led peacekeepers attempted to occupy the offices of one of the municipalities where an Albanian mayor took office last week clashed with the same unit. Clashes broke out between Serbs and police in the morning in the city, 45 kilometers north of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[276,9925],"tags":[5612,5613,5614,5615,5616,5617,5618,5619,5620,5621,5622,5623,5624,603,5625,5610,5611],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ksov.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7399,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7397\/revisions\/7399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}