After clashes in a Serb-majority town in Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has put his country’s army on standby. In addition, troops should be moved closer to the border with Kosovo. Defense Minister Milos Vucevic spoke of an urgent measure on television on Friday. “It is clear that terror is being perpetrated against the Serb community in Kosovo.”
The Kosovan police in Zvecan had previously used tear gas against a crowd who wanted to prevent the arrival of a new, Kosovo Albanian mayor. The police reported five injured officers, local Serbian health authorities reported ten slightly injured people.
About 50,000 Serbs live in four northern municipalities of Kosovo, including Zvecan. They boycotted the local elections on April 23 – the turnout was 3.5 percent – and refused to cooperate with the new four Albanian mayors.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday condemned the attempt by the authorities in Kosovo to use force to gain access to official buildings. This action went against US and European advice, has “drastically and unnecessarily” increased tensions and will “have an impact on our bilateral relations with Kosovo”.
Tensions with the Serbian minority in northern Kosovo have repeatedly arisen. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. However, the government in Belgrade did not recognize independence. The Serbs living in Kosovo also see themselves as part of the neighboring country. The ongoing dispute between the former Yugoslav republic of Serbia and its former province of Kosovo is an obstacle on the way for both states to join the European Union.
In a joint statement, Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain and the USA called for restraint from all parties and a de-escalation of the situation, as the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin announced.