Svecan: KFOR soldiers (front) and Kosovo police guard a municipal building after the clashes. © Dejan Simicevic/AP/dpa
Secretary General Stoltenberg speaks of "unacceptable" attacks: NATO is increasing its troop presence in Kosovo.
Brussels/Washington – NATO is responding to violent clashes in Kosovo by strengthening the international protection force KFOR. The stationing of additional soldiers in the Balkan country is a precautionary measure, NATO commander Stuart B. Munsch said on Tuesday (30 May).
Conflict in Kosovo: NATO responds to riots
As NATO announced, reserve forces of the so-called Operational Reserve Force (ORF) for the Western Balkans will be deployed, which will be operational within seven days. In addition, an additional multinational battalion of reserve forces has been instructed to "reduce its operational readiness from 14 to seven days in order to strengthen KFOR if necessary."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the "unacceptable" attacks must stop. Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic blamed Pristina's "unilateral decisions" for Monday's escalation. The violence sets Kosovo and the entire region back and endangers rapprochement with NATO, Stoltenberg said.
Conflict in Kosovo
Kosovo, which is now inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians, declared independence in 2008. To this day, Serbia does not recognize this step and demands the return of its former province.
In 1999, after a NATO intervention against Serbia, KFOR invaded Kosovo with around 50,000 troops. On the basis of a mandate from the UN Security Council, it is responsible for ensuring security in the country. Today it still has about 3800 soldiers, most of them from Italy, the USA, Hungary and Turkey. Germany is still taking part in the KFOR mission with about 70 soldiers.
Conflict in Kosovo: Protests in Zvecan
During the protests in Zvecan (here is an opinion article on the Kosovo conflict), Italian and Hungarian KFOR soldiers had confronted Serbian demonstrators who wanted to storm the city administration. The soldiers were attacked with stones, bottles and incendiary devices. The police used tear gas.
According to the respective governments, 19 Hungarian and eleven Italian soldiers were injured in the clashes. Vucic spoke of 52 injured demonstrators. Kosovo police said they arrested five demonstrators.
Conflict in Kosovo: Dispute over local elections
In April, the Kosovar authorities held local elections in four Serb-majority towns. However, the Serbs largely boycotted the elections, so the Albanian minority took control of the local councils despite an overall turnout of less than 3.5 percent. The demonstrators are demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo's security forces from the region and the removal of ethnic Albanian mayors. (AFP/dpa/frs)