NATO sends extra troops to Kosovo after heavy riots and wounded soldiers | Abroad

NATO is sending 700 soldiers from a reserve unit intended for the Western Balkans to Kosovo because of the unrest, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. That unit of the Operational Reserve Forces (ORF) is always ready to deploy within seven days.

An additional NATO battalion has been ordered to prepare for deployment in Kosovo, according to the NATO chief. That unit must ensure that it can be deployed within a week if necessary. A battalion usually consists of several hundred soldiers.

The measures are taken as a precaution, says Stoltenberg. According to him, NATO will continue to be able to keep the peace with the extra troops. The alliance continues to act impartially, as requested by the United Nations.

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The Norwegian secretary-general condemns the violence of rioters in the north of the country against the peacekeepers ‘strongly’. In the stas of Zvecan, Serb protesters demanded on Monday that newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors be ousted. They tried to enter the municipal building, which led to heavy riots. At least thirty soldiers from Italy and Hungary were injured. They suffered broken bones and burns from homemade explosives, among other things.

The demonstrators would not recognize the ethnic Albanian mayors as their representatives. The Serbs in Kosovo had boycotted last month’s elections in northern cities. As a result, ethnic Albanians gained control of local councils, despite a miniscule turnout of less than 3.5 percent of the electorate.

According to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, 52 protesters were injured in the clash with police. It was also restless in the Zvecan on Tuesday. Serb protesters continue to gather at the town hall. The Kosovo police are present with at least three armored vehicles.

Since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1999, which included Serbia and Kosovo, the region has always been unsettled. NATO peacekeepers have been present ever since to keep the peace.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. A large part of the Serbian community in Kosovo denies independence and believes that Kosovo belongs to Serbia.