NATO intends to send 700 soldiers to Kosovo. Here, 30 NATO soldiers from the KFOR force were injured on Monday evening in connection with unrest and riots.
This is stated by NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, on Tuesday according to the Norwegian public service media NRK and the news agency Reuters.
At the same time, the Nato chief condemns unrest in northern Kosovo.
– We condemn the unprovoked attack on KFOR troops in northern Kosovo. It is unacceptable and must stop, says Stoltenberg, according to the Norwegian news agency NTB.
The unrest stems from dissatisfaction among ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo that, after local elections, ethnic Albanian mayors are installed in some cities.
The Serbs’ discontent stems from a local election in April in northern Kosovo, which they boycotted.
This meant that ethnic Albanians secured the election victory and thus a number of mayoral posts, despite a measly 3.5 percent turnout.
Last week, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, officially installed the Albanian mayors. That move drew criticism from the United States and other allies.
The towns in northern Kosovo are mainly inhabited by ethnic Serbs, while the rest are inhabited by ethnic Albanians.
There are frequent conflicts in the northern districts of Kosovo. The Serbs are loyal to the government in Belgrade and have not accepted Kosovo’s independence.
Kosovo was a Serbian province until 2008, when it declared independence from Serbia.
In addition to Serbia, Russia, among others, has refused to recognize Kosovo as an independent country.
On Monday, KFOR forces were deployed to keep disgruntled ethnic Serbs from storming three town halls. The town halls are located in cities where ethnic Albanian mayors have been appointed.
The disgruntled crowd attacked the KFOR forces and 30 Nato envoys have been injured. There were 11 Italians and 19 Hungarians who, among other things, were burned and some suffered broken bones.
The Defense Command has informed TV 2 that a Danish soldier was hit by stone throwing during the unrest. However, all Danish soldiers are safe according to the Defense Command’s email to TV 2.
The first KFOR forces moved into Kosovo in June 1999 following a UN Security Council resolution.
Originally the force consisted of approximately 50,000. It has since been scaled down. Today there are around 3,500 according to KFOR’s own website.
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Source: Kristeligt Dagblad – Latest articles. by www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk.
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