Serbia put its army on high alert on Friday and moved soldiers closer to the Kosovo border, international news agencies report. Ethnic Serbs clashed with the police in northern Kosovo, who intervened when they blocked a town hall.
The tensions were triggered by local elections held in four areas in northern Kosovo after Serb administrators resigned over dissatisfaction with Kosovo’s policies. Serbian Kosovars boycotted the elections, in which ethnic Albanian mayors were elected.
In Zvecan, Serb Kosovars tried to prevent the newly elected mayor from entering the town hall. Police fired tear gas and at least ten protesters were injured, the Reuters news agency reported. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the police intervention: “These actions have sharply and unnecessarily exacerbated tensions, undermine our efforts to help normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and will affect our bilateral relations with Kosovo.”
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