Ethnic Serbs rallied in north Kososvo on Thursday while Washington pursued diplomatic pressure, on both Pristina and Belgrade to alleviate tensions. Washington is a historic ally of Kosovo, supporting its independence and European integration.
Ethnic Serbs gathered again in a flashpoint town in north Kosovo on Thursday at the site of clashes earlier this week with NATO-led forces, as Washington urged both Belgrade and Pristina to diffuse tensions.
In the northern town of Zvecan, some 70 protesters — significantly fewer than crowds seen on previous days — rallied outside the town hall, sealed off with barbed wire and encircled by NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR) in full riot gear.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged both Pristina and Belgrade to ease tensions, warning they were putting aspirations of European integration at risk.
Kosovo police said two ethnic Albanian men were injured in an attack near a square on the Serb-populated part of the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica.
Several hundred people rallied in the ethnic-Albanian populated southern part of Mitrovica, but despite announcements of “marching” towards the Serb neighbourhood, the demonstrators dispersed after half an hour.
Responding to the call sent through social media, several hundred citizens, mostly young people, gathered on the southern part of the bridge over the river Ibar, which separates Mitrovica.
Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority boycotted April local elections in the north, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a turnout of less than 3.5 percent.
Many Serbs are demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo special police forces, as well as the ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their true representatives.
The United States — Kosovo’s historic ally who championed the former province’s independence from Serbia — criticised the government in Pristina for “sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions” by installing ethnic Albanian mayors.
French president Emmanuel Macron also said Kosovo authorities bore “responsibility” for the current situation.
Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are expected to meet Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and her Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday on the sidelines of a summit in Moldova.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade — along with its allies China and Russia — still do not recognise the move, preventing Kosovo from having a seat at the United Nations.
Kosovo is mainly populated by ethnic Albanians, but the Serbs who make up around six percent of the population have remained largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north where they are a majority.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
