“I have ordered an urgent movement (of troops) towards the Kosovo border. It is clear that there is terrorism against the Serbian community in Kosovo,” Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said during a meeting. a live television broadcast.
Police fired tear gas into the town of Zvecan to disperse a crowd outside a municipal building. Protesters tried to block a newly elected ethnic Albanian leader from entering his office following an election boycotted by Serbs living in Kosovo.
And boycotted around 50,000 Serbs living in four municipalities in northern Kosovo, including Zvecan, elections held on April 23 to protest the failure to meet their demands for greater autonomy. This represents another setback for a peace agreement reached in March between Kosovo and Serbia.
Kosovo police said in a statement that five of its men were lightly injured when protesters threw rocks and other objects at them.
The statement added that four police cars were attacked, one of which caught fire, noting that gunshots were heard in the area.
Serbian local health authorities said a dozen people had seen a doctor at a local hospital because they suffered minor injuries and were hit by tear gas.
A Reuters reporter said several vehicles of NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo were seen near the site of the clashes, while helicopters flew overhead.
Jeffrey Hovenier, the American ambassador in Pristina, denounced the actions of the police.
“The United States condemns the continued actions of Kosovo authorities to gain access to municipal buildings in northern Kosovo. The violent actions taken today must cease immediately,†he wrote on Twitter.
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