Dozens of NATO soldiers today guard a municipal building in the town of Zvetsan, Kosovo, where yesterday, Monday, 30 NATO soldiers and 52 Serb protesters injured in clashes.

The tensions have risen in recent hours after ethnic Albanian mayors took office in the predominantly Serb region of northern Kosovo following elections that Serbs boycotted.

Kosovo authorities have charged him Vucic that it is destabilizing Kosovo while the Serbian president accuses the Kosovo authorities of causing trouble by insisting on installing new mayors.

At the same time the Serbia put its armed forces on high alert and ordered the movement of units to the administrative border with Kosovo.

Today Kosovo Serbs have gathered in front of the municipal building in Zvečan, where incidents broke out again although initially the situation was calm.

Soldiers from the NATO force, known as KFOR, from the United States, Italy and Poland stand guard in riot gear.

In another Serb-majority town, Leposavic, the Albanian-born mayor was unable to leave his office for more than 24 hours because of protesters outside, media reported.

Reactions and appeals from European officials

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned yesterday’s violence “in the strongest terms”.

“Violent acts against @NATO_KFOR troops, civilians and police are absolutely unacceptable,” Borel tweeted.

NATO has spoken of “totally unacceptable” attacks in Kosovo.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told public radio station RAI that he spoke yesterday, Monday night, with Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

“I called on them to show calm … to give up violence and I hope they listened, they both showed great willingness, we’ll see,” Tajani said.
In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said in a statement that “it is more important than ever for Pristina and Belgrade to show responsibility by returning to the negotiating table with a willingness to compromise in the service of peace and the well-being of Serbs and Kosovar citizens”.

The French representative called on the two parties, especially the government of Kosovo, to immediately take the necessary measures to reduce tensions.

“We cannot accept that regional stability is jeopardized, given the critical international context. This is a matter of European security”, he underlined.

The beginning of the crisis in Kosovo

The crisis erupted in April when Kosovo Serbs boycotted local elections, allowing Albanians to take control of local councils with a turnout of less than 4%.

The Kosovar authorities have criticized the EU and the US for destabilizing the situation in northern Kosovo, warning of the ignition of national tensions.

In February 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia after years of strained relations between its Serb and predominantly Albanian residents.

Kosovo has been recognized by the US and major EU countries. Serbia, backed by its ally Russia, does not recognize it, as do most of its Serbian residents.