Kosovo Police has announced an increased presence in the country’s north, predominantly inhabited by ethnic Serbs, as Belgrade says it will send in its own security forces.
On Tuesday, the north was rocked by several attacks, including explosions and gunshots in the direction of municipal electoral commissions as officials were carrying out pre-election activities.
By Thursday, Kosovo Police had announced an increased police presence in four Serb-majority municipalities.
“The priority of the Kosovo Police is to provide security for all citizens; therefore, assessing the current situation and trends in the northern municipalities, the police will increase the police presence in the north in the coming days to achieve the objectives of the police,” they said in an official statement.
Serbian media in the north of Kosovo and those in Serbia reported that members of the special units of the Kosovo Police are being sent there, REL writes.
But the spokesperson of the Government of Kosovo, Përparim Kryeziu, rejected these claims.
“It’s only about the law enforcement, not any other unit,” he told Radio Free Europe.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Xelal Sveçla, said that the increase in police presence was “necessary” after the recent incidents in this part of the country.
“We ask all citizens to keep calm and cooperate with the Kosovo Police, who are committed to order and security for all citizens without any distinction”, he wrote on Facebook.
The head of Serbia’s Kosovo Office, Petar Petković, said about 300-350 Kosovo police, including special forces, had entered northern Kosovo, accusing Prime Minister Albin Kurti of continuing his “illegal and violent acts” to occupy north Kosovo.
Speaking in Belgrade on Thursday evening, he said Serbia would consider “returning up to 1,000 of our own security forces to Kosovo, as stipulated by UN resolution 1244”, N1 reported.
The resolution allows for the possibility of a return to Kosovo of a smaller body of Serbian security forces, in special conditions and under international supervision.
“President Aleksandar Vucic has repeated many times he would not allow a pogrom… but they did not seem to have understood him well, particularly those in the West who should reign in Kurti”.
“I hope they will understand after what happened tonight what this important message means: we want to preserve our people and will not allow our people to suffer, to be persecuted, harassed or killed”.
Petković added that by sending police to the north, Pristina had violated the Brussels agreement.
Meanwhile, Kurti met with the EU’s Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak, in Vienna for a Summit of Balkan Leaders.
Lajcak spoke in support of Kosovo’s intention to apply for EU membership before the end of the year.
“I welcome the strong commitment to membership in the European Union for the Western Balkans and the opportunity to exchange views”, Lajcak wrote.
Source: euractiv.com
