Serbian banners dominate the street scene in the divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo. Photo: Visar Kryeziu / AP / NTB
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26. May 2023 16:31 – Updated May 26, 2023 4:31 p.m
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has put the country’s forces on alert after clashes between Serbs and police in neighboring Kosovo.
Serbian forces have also moved closer to the border with Kosovo.
– An urgent movement of forces towards the border with Kosovo has been ordered. It is clear that terror is being perpetrated against the Serbian community in Kosovo, Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said on Serbian television.
Police and Serbian protesters clashed on Friday in front of the town hall in the town of Zvecan in Kosovo. The Serbs tried to prevent a recently elected Kosovo Albanian mayor from gaining access to his office. The police finally escorted him into the building.
The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, and a police car was set on fire. In online videos, you can hear the sound of gunshots and stun grenades.
The protest actions come in the wake of a local election that has been boycotted by the Kosovo Serbs.
Around 50,000 ethnic Serbs live in four municipalities in northern Kosovo. They boycotted the election on 23 April in protest that their demands for more autonomy had not been met. Voter turnout in the four municipalities was 3.47 percent, and local Serbian leaders say they will not cooperate with the four Kosovo Albanian mayors.
The Serbs in northern Kosovo do not accept the 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. They still see Belgrade as their capital. Kosovo Albanians make up over 90 percent of the population of Kosovo. It is only in the northern areas that the Serbs are in the majority.
2023-05-26 14:31:23
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