30 international peacekeepers injured in fierce clashes in Kosovo

KFOR soldiers (front) and Kosovo police officers guard a municipal building after Monday’s clashes in the town of Zvecan Tuesday. Pic/AP

The NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, on Tuesday raised the number of its troops injured in fierce clashes with ethnic Serbs to 30. The Serbs had tried to take over the offices of one of the municipalities in northern Kosovo where ethnic Albanian mayors took up their posts last week.

A statement said that 11 Italian soldiers and 19 Hungarian ones "sustained multiple injuries, including fractures and burns from improvized explosive incendiary devices." It added that three Hungarian soldiers were "wounded by the use of firearms," but their injuries are not life-threatening.

The Serbs clashed with NATO troops in the municipality of Zvecan, 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of the capital, Pristina. "Both parties need to take full responsibility for what happened and prevent any further escalation, rather than hide behind false narratives," said KFOR commander Maj.-Gen. Angelo Michele Ristuccia.

Ethnic Serbs planned to gather again on Tuesday. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spent the night with his troops on the border with Kosovo. They were placed on the highest state of alert on his orders last week. Vucic said 52 Serbs were injured in the clashes, three seriously. Kosovo police said four people were detained.

52
No of Serbs injured in the clashes

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