Tensions high in northern Kosovo after attacks on police

Tensions escalated in northern Kosovo on Sunday (11 December) after unidentified gunmen exchanged fire with police and hurled a stun grenade at EU security forces overnight.

Dozens of Serbs, protesting against the arrest of a former police officer, gathered again in the morning on the roads built the previous day, which paralyze the traffic at the two border checkpoints between Kosovo and Serbia.

Three attacks

Hours after the roadblocks were set up, police said there were three consecutive gun attacks Saturday night on a road leading to the border. “The police units, being in a self-defense situation, had to respond with weapons and ammunition to people and criminal groups, who were pushed back and removed in an unknown direction.“, the police report says.

European Union police deployed to the region as part of the EULEX mission said they were also targeted by a stun grenade, with no casualties among their ranks. “This attack, like the attacks against Kosovo police officers, is unacceptableEULEX’s statement says:

Local government elections

Tensions have risen ahead of local elections scheduled for December 18, which the main Serbian party wants to boycott. Explosions and gunfire were heard earlier in the week as local authorities scrambled to prepare for the vote. A police officer of the Albanian community, who is part of the forces stationed in the region, was injured.

Immediately after the roadblocks appeared, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani decided to move the elections to April 23. The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and the United States, as well as the EU delegation, welcomed the delay, seeing it as “constructive decision“for”Advancing efforts to achieve a more secure situation in the North“.

Police and military deployment

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade does not recognize it and has encouraged the Serb majority in northern Kosovo to challenge the authorities in Pristina. Serbs make up approximately 120,000 of Kosovo’s total population of 1.8 million, the vast majority of whom are of Albanian descent.

Pristina and Belgrade have traded accusations following a series of recent incidents. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he will ask NATO forces to allow Serbian police and military to be stationed in Kosovo, while admitting that there is “This request cannot be approved“. The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in his turn blamed Serbia.Threaten Kosovo with aggression“.