The World Briefly

May 29, 2023

Dry Powder

Kosovo

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Kosovo police and ethnic Serbs clashed in the northern town of Zvecan over the weekend, unrest that prompted condemnation from the West and Russia, and threatens to ignite ethnic tensions in the predominately Albanian country, Politico reported.

The clashes began after crowds of ethnic Serbs blocked a newly elected Albanian mayor from entering his office in Zvecan. Many of the protesters lamented the outcome of April’s elections in four municipalities that were largely boycotted by ethnic Serbs because their calls for more autonomy were ignored.

Only ethnic Albanian or other smaller minority representatives were elected in the mayoral posts and assemblies, according to the Associated Press.

Local Serbs have refused to work with the four ethnic Albanian mayors, prompting Saturday’s protests. Police later responded by launching tear gas against demonstrators.

The skirmishes triggered a backlash from neighboring Serbia, whose President Aleksandar Vucic ordered the army on full combat alert and told troops to move closer to the border with Kosovo.

The United States and major European countries urged both parties to de-escalate tensions, while condemning both for their actions.

Russia – Serbia’s ally in the region – accused the West and Kosovo of sparking the violence, to “directly threaten the security of the whole Balkans region.”

Relations between the two neighbors have been fraught since the Balkan war in the late 1990s that followed separatist ethnic Albanians rebelling against Serbia’s rule.

About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died in the conflict, which ended following a military intervention by NATO in 1999.

In 2008, Kosovo declared itself independent but many countries – including Serbia and Russia – have yet to recognize the move.

This story originally appeared in the May 29, 2023 newsletter, Russian Reveille.