Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared anew this weekend after Kosovo’s police raided Serb-dominated areas in the region’s north and seized local municipality buildings.
There have been violent clashes between Kosovo’s police and NATO-led peacekeepers on one side and local Serbs on the other, leaving dozens of people injured on both sides.
Serbia raised combat readiness of its troops stationed near the border and warned it won’t stand by if Serbs in Kosovo are attacked again. The situation has again fueled fears of a renewal of the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo that claimed more than 10,000 lives and left more than 1 million homeless.
Kosovo is a mainly ethnic Albanian populated territory that was formerly a province of Serbia. It declared independence in 2008.
Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood and still considers it part of Serbia, even though it has no formal control there.
Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States. Russia, China have sided with Serbia. The deadlock has kept tensions simmering and prevented full stabilization of the Balkan region after the bloody wars in the 1990s.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the situation in Kosovo is alarming and that it could provoke another conflict in Central Europe.
“A huge explosion is being prepared in the center of Europe, in the place where, in 1999, NATO attacked Yugoslavia, violating every imaginable (international) principle,” he said, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
China said that it was closely following the developments.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Nin urged NATO to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity “of the relevant countries and truly do what is conducive to regional peace.”
After Serbs boycotted last month’s local elections held in northern Kosovo, where Serbs represent a majority, newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors moved into their offices with the help of Kosovo’s riot police last Friday.
Serbs tried to prevent them from taking over the premises, but the police fired tear gas to disperse them.
On Monday, Serbs engaged in fierce clashes with NATO peacekeepers, leaving more than 50 rioters and 30 international troops injured.
The election boycott followed a collective resignation by Serb officials from the area, including administrative staff, judges, and police officers, in November 2022.
The dispute over Kosovo is centuries-old. Serbia cherishes the region as the heart of its statehood and religion.
Numerous medieval Serb Orthodox Christian monasteries are in Kosovo. Serb nationalists view a 1389 battle against Ottoman Turks there as a symbol of its national struggle.
Kosovo’s majority ethnic Albanians view Kosovo as their country and accuse Serbia of occupation and repression. Ethnic Albanian rebels launched a rebellion in 1998 to rid the country of Serbian rule.
Belgrade’s brutal response prompted a NATO intervention in 1999, which forced Serbia to pull out and cede control to international peacekeepers.
There have been constant international efforts to find common ground between the two former wartime foes, but there has been no final comprehensive agreement so far.
EU officials have mediated negotiations designed to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Numerous agreements have been reached during the negotiations, but were rarely implemented on the ground. Some areas have seen results, like introducing freedom of movement within the country.
International officials are hoping to speed up negotiations and reach a solution in the coming months.
Both nations must normalize ties if they want to advance toward EU membership. No major breakthrough would mean prolonged instability, economic decline and constant potential for clashes.
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Dusan Stojanovic, MDT/AP
