Tension Persists In Northern Kosovo As Ethnic Serbs Protest Outside Town Hall

Tensions in northern Kosovo continued to escalate on Tuesday as ethnic Serbs maintained their presence outside the town hall in Zvecan.

These gatherings persisted following violent clashes with NATO-led peacekeepers that resulted in the injury of 30 soldiers.

The municipal building in Zvecan has been secured with a metal barrier by the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers, who are wearing full riot gear.

They have been preventing several hundred Serbs from entering the premises. Additionally, three armoured vehicles belonging to the ethnic Albanian Kosovo police, whose presence has always been a contentious issue in Serb-majority northern areas, remained stationed in front of the town hall.

Tensions reached a boiling point when Serbs attempted to force their way into the Zvecan town hall. Kosovo police responded by firing tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Initially, KFOR attempted to separate the protesters from the police, but they later resorted to using shields and batons to disperse the crowd. In response, the protesters threw rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers.

A total of 30 peacekeepers were wounded in the clashes, suffering fractures and burns from improvised explosive incendiary devices.