Tensions remain high in northern Kosovo after clashes between the ethnic Serb minority and NATO-led peacekeepers. Serbian demonstrators gathered outside Zvecan town hall, demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo’s special police forces and ethnic Albanian mayors whom they do not consider legitimate representatives. KFOR soldiers surrounded the municipal building and secured the perimeter with a metal fence and barbed wire. During the clashes, three people were injured and treated at Pristina hospital. The Serbian minority boycotted local elections, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite low turnouts. The situation remains delicate and ethnic tension remains a challenge in the context of Kosovo.
In reassuring the conditions of the 14 Italian soldiers who were wounded yesterday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his deep concern, warning, as did the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, of the risk of an escalation: “We cannot allow another war,” said the high representative of EU foreign policy, while NATO decided to increase the contingent of the mission in Kosovo.
The risk of a civil war in the Balkans “exists and we are working to ensure that this risk does not appear seriously”, Tajani told Stasera Italia on Rete4 yesterday: “We need to work for these countries to become part of the European Union, to calm the things” and “to avoid external influences, such as Russian or Chinese ones”.
Source: IL Tempo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
