NATO has informed that it will send an additional battalion of peacekeepers to the north of Kosovo. During the clashes with the locals, 30 soldiers were injured there.
This is stated in the statements of the NATO joint command and the mission in Kosovo.
They stated that 11 soldiers from Italy and 19 from Hungary were wounded during clashes in the Zvechan municipality. They have various injuries, including fractures and burns from improvised explosive devices. Three Hungarians were wounded by firearms.
In response, NATO will deploy an Operational Reserve Force in the Western Balkans. Also, the additional battalion of the reserve will reduce the deployment time from 14 to 7 days, which will allow to quickly reinforce the peacekeepers in Kosovo.
Why did the clashes happen?
On April 23, disputed municipal elections were held in the north of Kosovo amid a Serb boycott. Serbs refused to participate in local elections, and ethnic Albanian candidates won mayoral elections in four Serb-majority municipalities. But the turnout at the elections was less than 5%. Serbs demand that the Kosovo government remove the Albanian mayors from power.
Serbs are the majority in northern Kosovo, although over 90% of Kosovoʼs population is Albanian. Serbs in the north of Kosovo demand the preservation of ties with Serbia and the creation of an association of autonomous municipalities on their territory.
- On March 18, 2023 , Kosovo and Serbia agreed on a plan to normalize relations. This agreement commits Kosovo to immediately begin negotiations on granting the Serbian community in Kosovo an appropriate level of self-government. Within 30 days, Belgrade and Pristina must establish a joint monitoring committee chaired by the EU. The parties also agreed to urgently approve the declaration of missing persons. For its part, the EU will organize a donor conference on investment and financial assistance to Kosovo and Serbia within 150 days. However, until the parties fulfill all provisions of the agreement on the normalization of relations, no payments will be made.