Violence erupted on Monday, on the sidelines of protests demanding the departure of newly elected Kosovo Albanian mayors in a Serb-majority region.
Kosovo has been plagued by new tensions for several days. On Monday, May 29, clashes on the sidelines of demonstrations in the north of this small Balkan country left several dozen civilians and soldiers from the NATO international force present on the spot injured. At the heart of this mobilization led by members of the Serb minority in Kosovo: the recent controversial election, in towns with a majority Serb population, of mayors from the Albanian community, which represents the bulk of the population of the country, a former Serbian territory which has proclaimed its independence in 2008. As protesters gather again in one of these cities on Tuesday, franceinfo takes stock of what we know about this renewed violence.
Many injured soldiers and demonstrators
On Monday, Kosovo police dispersed protests using tear gas. The president of neighboring Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, accuses him of having At minus 52 Kosovo Serbs injured, three of them seriously. He notably assured that a 50-year-old man had been shot and wounded by “special forces” of the font.
Members of the international force led by NATO in Kosovo (Kfor) were also injured in these clashes on Monday, the organization announced. Monday evening. A new balance sheet press release tuesday (link in English) reported 30 wounded in its ranks. These soldiers had been deployed in four northern municipalities “in order to contain the ongoing violent protests”. They “were the target of unprovoked attacks and suffered traumatic injuries with broken bones and burns from the explosion of incendiary devices”, reports the release of Kfor, present in Kosovo since 1999 and a mandate granted by a resolution of the Security Council of the United Nations.
According to the command of the NATO force, the wounded are 11 Italian soldiers and 19 Hungarian soldiers. Seven of the latter were seriously injured, according to the Hungarian Ministry of Defence, as were three of the Italian wounded, according to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Three of the Hungarians were injured by firearms, says Kfor.
Two Kosovo media crews also claimed protesters slashed the tires of their vehicles and sprayed them with paint. A judged situation “very worrying”, by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (link in English).
Serbian military at highest level of alert
After the first clashes in three localities in Kosovo on Friday, particularly in the commune from Zvecan, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic placed the army in “state of high alert until further notice” and put it “moving” towards the border with Kosovo. Ihe United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany urged Serbia “to immediately reconsider its decision”.
On Saturday morning, Aleksandar Vucic chaired a meeting of the Committee for National Security, which adopted a plan for“security activities (…) aimed at strengthening Serbia’s defense capabilities”, announced the presidency. The situation is not new, however: in recent years, the Serbian army has been placed on alert on several occasions.
The international force led by NATO in Kosovo (Kfor) for its part declared “strengthen its presence” in northern Kosovo, while calling on the two countries to resume dialogue.
A reaction to disputed elections
Kosovo, a former Serbian province whose independence proclaimed in 2008 has never been recognized by Belgrade, is the scene of regular tensions between the Albanian community (which represents more than 90% of the country’s population) and the Serbian community (the majority in the North, near the border with Serbia). Latest episode: the holding of municipal elections controversial, theApril 23, in four localities in northern Kosovo.
The poll was widely boycotted, with a turnout of less than 3.5%. But the Albanian mayors who won were inducted by the Kosovo government, despite calls for appeasement from the European Union and the United States. They took office on Friday, which angered Serb protesters. The actions of the Kosovo police, armed with rifles and armored vehicles, also contributed to the rise in tension, reports the BBC.
Strong international reactions
The violence against Kfor soldiers was described as “totally unacceptable” by NATO. “The violence must stop immediately”, hammered the Atlantic Alliance. Faced with these tensions, the American ambassador and the envoy of the European Union summoned the Albanian mayors to a meeting in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. The head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell, also described the acts of violence committed against Kfor, the media, civilians and the police as“absolutely unacceptable”.
France declared to condemn “this violence in the strongest terms” and called “all parties, in particular the Kosovo government, to take immediate steps to reduce tensions.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, gave his support to the Serbs, assuring that they “fighting for their rights”. These clashes in the region caused reactions even on the courts of Roland-Garros on Monday: Serbian star Novak Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia! Stop the violence” on the lens of a competition camera.