Monday saw two shock bombs set off near the police station in Zvecan, north Kosovo, as tensions continue to simmer and the EU issued an ultimatum to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksander Vucic to return to dialogue.
The police confirmed that there were no injuries in the explosions and that “Relevant police units have gone to the scene, the prosecutor has been notified, who has qualified the case and continues to be investigated by competent police units.”
The explosions come after two bombs were set off on Friday in North Mitrovica, one near the police station and another near a technical school.
Tensions have been ongoing since 26 May when recently elected ethnic Albanian mayors tried to enter municipal premises to start their work with the assistance of Kosovo police. This sparked protests from Serbs in the region who had abandoned their vote in the April elections, which were called after their representatives resigned en masse from all state institutions at the end of 2022.
On Monday, the EU called on Vucic and Kurti to sit down and talk in a crisis meeting in Brussels. Vucic told local media he would not talk to Kurti, while Kurti said he had asked to meet the week before, but this was not accepted, adding he would reply to the EU’s request early this week.
He also said his participation in the meeting would depend on the outcome of a visit of the head of the liaison office in Belgrade, Jetish Jashari, to the three Kosovo policemen being held in Serbian custody.
Last week, three Kosovo policemen were reportedly arrested within Kosovo by Serbian forces and taken into custody in Serbia. Belgrade, however, denies Kosovo’s claim that the officers were kidnapped “deep within Kosovo”.
Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo’s border and instead calls it an “administrative line”, denies the kidnapping and says the officers were apprehended in Serbia.
The US said that Serbia must “immediately and unconditionally release the three Kosovo policemen detained by Serbia” and “We believe that Kosovo and Serbia should take immediate steps to reduce tensions.”
Meanwhile, the EU said the meeting should not have conditions and parties failing to attend could face consequences.
EU spokesperson Peter Stano said, “The date has not been set yet because the parties have not confirmed their participation. Borrell expects more responsible behaviour from the two leaders. The EU expects them to come unconditionally. The European bloc monitors the situation to see if the parties are ready to find a solution.”
Meanwhile, Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani said that the tensions could have been avoided if Serbs, who make up a majority in the north but a fraction of the country’s overall population, had used various mechanisms available to them.
“Serbs had various instruments that could have been used if they wanted to contest the legitimacy of the elected mayors. But they did not use any of those democratic constitutional tools to do this”, she said.
Regarding the new elections in the four Serbian municipalities, Osmani said that Kosovo has asked for the support of our partners to ensure that Serbia does not illegally interfere in the elections of another country, as it did last time, and not to pressure Kosovo Serbs not to participate.
“But so far, we have not received an answer”, continued Osmani.
As for the withdrawal of police forces, a request from international stakeholders, she said that Kosovo has already proposed a joint security assessment with KFOR and EULEX.
KFOR troops, police, and journalists were injured during the protests, with attacks on journalists continuing. The police announced they had arrested an ethnic Serb on suspicion of attacking journalists on 16 June and that further actions would be taken in coordination with justice bodies.
On Friday, nine Kosovar journalists were attacked in Leposavic by masked assailants. Footage shows them being stoned and physically assaulted by multiple individuals.
Concerns have been raised about ongoing assaults on mainly ethnic Albanian journalists, covering the protests by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Coalition For Women In Journalism, the International Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and local journalist associations.
Reports also came on Monday evening from Kosovo citizens that blockades had been set up near several border crossing points and that cars with Kosovo plates were not allowed to enter Serbia.
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
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