Tuesday, October 22

Kosovo clashes: NATO-led troops put up barbed wire boundaries after protests in northern twons

NATO-led peacekeeping troops have put up steel fences and barbed wire boundaries in a northern city in Kosovo after clashes with ethnic Serbs left 30 worldwide troopers injured.

The boundaries have been erected after a whole bunch of ethnic Serbs began gathering in entrance of town corridor in Zvecan, a northern Kosovo city 28 miles north of the capital Pristina.

NATO has determined to ship 700 extra troops to northern Kosovo to assist quell violent protests after the clashes on Monday.

Violence initially broke out within the north of the nation over the weekend after ethnic Albanian mayors have been put in in Serbian-dominated areas.

They have been elected in a vote overwhelmingly boycotted by Serbs.

Some within the nation have since made repeated efforts to take over the workplaces in Zvecan, the place the mayors took up their posts.

KFOR soldiers place a barbed wire in front of the city hall in the town of Zvecan, northern Kosovo
Pic:AP

Kosovo police fired tear fuel to disperse Serbs who tried to dam officers from getting into municipal buildings within the city final week.

This has result in clashes with NATO-led troops that left 30 worldwide troopers injured.

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A press release on Tuesday by the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stated 30 troopers – 11 Italians and 19 Hungarians – “sustained multiple injuries, including fractures and burns from improvised explosive incendiary devices”.

Three Hungarian troopers have been “wounded by the use of firearms,” however their accidents weren’t life-threatening, the assertion added.

Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic has stated 52 ethnic Serbs have been injured within the clashes.

Polish Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers stand guard near a municipal office in Zvecan, Kosovo

Meanwhile, ethnic Serbs have insisted that each ethnic Albanian mayors and Kosovo police should depart northern Kosovo.

Serbia has put its army on the best state of alert and despatched extra troops to the border with the nation.

A former province of Serbia, Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence just isn’t recognised by Belgrade.

Ethnic Albanians make up many of the inhabitants of Kosovo, however the nation has a restive Serbian minority within the north of the nation.

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Violence breaks out throughout Kosovo clashes

NATO’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has condemned the violence in Kosovo, saying that “such attacks are unacceptable and must stop”.

He warned that NATO troops “will take all necessary actions to maintain a safe and secure environment for all citizens in Kosovo”.

He urged each side to take steps to de-escalate, chorus from “further irresponsible behaviour” and to return to EU-backed talks on bettering relations.

Content Source: information.sky.com