25 KFOR soldiers, including 11 Italians, were injured in the serious clashes between NATO troops and Serbian demonstrators in Zvecan, in northern Kosovo. Of the 11 wounded Italians, who belong to the 9th Alpini Regiment of L’Aquila, three are serious but not life threatening: they would have suffered burns and fractures. They were hit by Molotov cocktails or other incendiary devices. This is what is learned from qualified sources, according to which the situation is still tense and the most violent fringes of demonstrators are being contained. Three Italian soldiers have “exposed fractures”.
NATO’s KFOR mission today used tear gas and stun bombs to disperse Serb demonstrators in the northern city of Zvecan protesting outside the town hall demanding the removal of the new Albanian-majority mayor. According to the Kossev portal, KFOR intervened when the crowd refused, despite the appeal of their political leaders, to let through two special vehicles of the Kosovar police, stuck among the demonstrators since morning. Protesters are calling for the withdrawal of all special police in the town hall building and some media say shots are heard.
KFOR Commander: unacceptable attacks, we remain impartial
“Unjustified attacks on NATO units are unacceptable and KFOR will continue to fulfill its mandate impartially.” This is what the commander of the Kfor mission, the general of division Angelo Michele Ristuccia, claims, who is personally following the evolution of the situation.
In Zvecan today “explosives were also used against military forces trying to keep the peace”, denounced the American ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, in a tweet in which he expressed the “strong condemnation of the United States of the violent protest actions ». “We reiterate our call for an immediate halt to violence and actions that inflame tensions or promote conflict,” he added.