The US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, and the head of the European Union (EU) delegation, Tomasz Szunyog, today condemned attacks by Serb protesters on Kosovo Force soldiers in Zevkan, in the north of the country. During a protest in front of City Hall.
“The United States strongly condemns the actions of protesters in Jwaken today, including the use of explosives against KFOR troops who seek to keep the peace. “We reiterate our call for an end to actions that fuel violence and tension, and that fuel conflict,” Hovenier said on Twitter.
Sajunayog also called for an “immediate cessation of violence and de-escalation of tensions”.
Serbs, a minority in Kosovo but the majority group in the country’s north, protested demands for the new mayor, an Albanian, and the departure of special policemen from the city council.
KFOR intervened with tear gas and stun bombs when the crowd refused to allow the passage of two armored vehicles of Kosovar special police that had been blocked between protesters since morning.
Belgrade accused Kosovo special police of shooting at the protesters.
More than 50 people were treated in hospital for illnesses caused by tear gas poisoning and injuries, three of them hospitalized and one person who was shot critically and his life is in danger , director of the Mitrovica Clinical Center Zlatan Alec told, according to the N1 station.
Kosovo police reported that several KFOR soldiers were injured and five protesters were detained.
The Serbs of northern Kosovo do not recognize the authority of the new mayors, who were elected last April in elections in which participation was barely 3% due to the exclusion of Serbs, who are a minority in Kosovo, but a large majority in four municipalities. Is. Condemned discrimination against Kosovar in the north and by Pristina.
Kosovo, a former Serbian province populated by a large majority of Albanians, declared its independence in 2008, which Serbia does not recognize.
The two countries have been negotiating a new EU plan backed by the United States to normalize their ties, in a process often hampered by flare-ups of tensions. afe
