Serbs In Northern Kosovo Want Kosovar Flag Removed From Local City Hall - Reports

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2023) Leaders of the Serb List, the largest pro-Serb party in Kosovo, have asked the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force to remove the flag of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo from the Zvecan municipal building and withdraw the Kosovar police from the north of the region, the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) reported on Monday.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of Kosovo Serbs came to local administration buildings demanding the withdrawal of Kosovar police and officials. KFOR troops with crowd dispersal devices are deployed in the municipalities of Zvecan, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok. In Zvecan, the crowd tried to approach the administration building, but was stopped by the police.

The head of the Serb List, Goran Rakic, and his deputy, Igor Simic, demanded that KFOR remove the Kosovar flag, the report said. It was raised on Friday by the newly elected mayor of Zvecan, Ilir Peci, a Kosovo Albanian.

The local Serbs intend to continue the protests until their demands are met, the RTK reported.

Earlier in the day, after meeting with US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier, Peci said he would work in the municipality despite the protests.

On Saturday, Serbia's National Security Council condemned KFOR for standing by while Kosovar police used force to install new Albanian mayors in Serb-majority northern provinces. Later in the day, Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said the Serbian army was deploying its units near Kosovo in anticipation of provocations. The current escalation could turn into a direct conflict at any moment, the minister added.

Serbia, which has never recognized Kosovo's independence and continues to refer to it as its province of Kosovo and Metohija, put its armed forces on full combat alert following the storming of municipal offices in northern Kosovo on Friday after Kosovar police used tear gas to break up peaceful demonstrations by ethnic Serbs protesting the outcome of April 23 elections. The elections were boycotted by ethnic Serbs and declared valid despite a 3.5% voter turnout.