NATO Forces Remove Barbed Wire In Northern Kosovo - Reports

The NATO contingent in Kosovo (KFOR) has removed barbed wire fences in the municipality of Zvecan, which it installed last week during clashes with the local ethnic Serb community, Serbian media reported on Monday

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2023) The NATO contingent in Kosovo (KFOR) has removed barbed wire fences in the municipality of Zvecan, which it installed last week during clashes with the local ethnic Serb community, Serbian media reported on Monday.

Last week, thousands of Kosovo Serbs protested a controversial election in front of administration buildings in Zvecan and other Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo, which Belgrade refers to as its Kosovo and Metohija region as it never recognized its former province's independence. KFOR forces fenced off the buildings with barbed wire and Kosovar police fired tear gas to push back the Serb protesters, with the largest clash taking place on May 29.

KFOR has now removed the barbed wire barriers in Zvecan, the Vecernje novosti newspaper reported.

Earlier in the day, the Serbian government's chief for Kosovo and Metohija Affairs, Petar Petkovic, said that video footage of the May 29 clashes shows that the responsibility rests with the Kosovo police, who used excessive force against Serb protesters. On Friday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the clashes were caused by the actions of Kosovar police, not the KFOR contingent.

Serb protesters were demanding the removal of ethnic Albanian mayors who took office following municipal elections with a marginal 3.5% voter turnout that were boycotted by Kosovo's Serb community. At least 52 Serbs and 30 KFOR troops were injured in the May 29 clashes.