Kosovo police fired tear gas Monday to disperse protesting Serbs in a bid to prevent Albanian mayors elected in a controversial election from taking office in Serb-majority localities in northern Kosovo. These councillors were appointed after the local elections organised by the Kosovar authorities on 23rd April in four municipalities with a majority populated by Serbs who largely boycotted this election: only some 1500 voters, out of around 45,000 registered, took part. The protesters are also demanding the withdrawal of special police forces deployed in the area for several days.
The tense situation escalated in Zvecan where special forces pushed back a group of protesters who tried to enter the premises of the marie, an AFP journalist reported. Police said in a statement that they had reacted when protesters tried to break through a police cordon by "using violence and tear gas."
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The Serbs, whose political representatives left local institutions in northern Kosovo in November in a standoff between Belgrade and Pristina, boycotted municipal elections organized by the Kosovar government in April to end the institutional vacuum. Incidents have already occurred on Friday when these mayors came to take office accompanied by the police.
The NATO force deployed in Kosovo (KFOR) said it had "strengthened its presence" in the north and urged Belgrade and Pristina to resume dialogue under the auspices of the European Union to reduce tensions. KFOR soldiers were deployed on Monday around the Zvecan town hall, according to the AFP correspondent.
Flare-ups of tension are frequent in northern Kosovo, a former Serbian province that proclaimed its independence in 2008, never recognized by Serbia. Some 120,000 Serbs live in Kosovo, which is populated by 1.8 million inhabitants, the vast majority of whom are Albanians.
