At least 30 peacekeepers of the NATO-led mission in Kosovo were injured on Monday in clashes with Serb protesters who demanded the removal of recently-elected ethnic Albanian mayors. According to international media reports, Kosovo Force (KFOR) said it had faced \u201cunprovoked attacks\u201d while countering a hostile crowd after demonstrators clashed with police and tried to force their way into a government building in the northern town of Zvecan. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said 52 Serbs were also hurt, three seriously, while one was \u201cwounded with two gunshots by [ethnic] Albanian special forces\u201d. Hungary\u2019s defence minister said on Facebook \u201cmore than 20 Hungarian soldiers\u201d were among the wounded, with seven in serious but stable condition. Italy\u2019s foreign minister said three of its soldiers were seriously wounded, and the country\u2019s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, joined NATO in calling for \u201call parties to take a step back to lower tensions\u201d. Kosovo\u2019s Serbs boycotted last month\u2019s elections in northern towns, which allowed ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a very low turnout of less than 3.5 percent. Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti\u2019s government officially installed the mayors last week, defying calls to ease the tensions by the European Union and the United States, which have both supported the territory\u2019s 2008 independence from Serbia. Many Serbs are demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo police forces \u2013 whose presence in northern Kosovo has long sparked resistance \u2013 as well as the ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their true representatives. NATO strongly condemned the \u201cunprovoked\u201d attacks against KFOR troops, adding that such actions were \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and Belgrade and its key allies Russia and China have refused to recognise it, effectively preventing Kosovo from having a seat at the United Nations. Serbs in Kosovo remained largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north, where they make up a majority and reject every move by Pristina to consolidate its control over the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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