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Additional 700 NATO troops deployed to control protests in Kosovo

  • International
  • Lead News
  • 31 May, 2023 20:01:32

Photo: Collected

International Desk: Protests continue in Kosovo. NATO deployed 700 more troops to quell the protests. Meanwhile, the Serbs are adamant about their demands. Deutsche Welle said in a report.

About 30 NATO troops were injured in Monday and Tuesday's clashes. In response, it was announced on Tuesday that 700 more troops would be deployed in Kosovo. New troops have already arrived in Kosovo.

The reserve force has been asked to be alert so that more troops can be deployed if necessary. NATO forces in Kosovo are known as Kosovo Force or Kforce for short. Demonstrators clashed with Serbs in Serb-dominated Kosovo on Monday, first with local police and then with Kforce. Police fired tear gas shells. Grenades are also alleged to have been thrown. The Serbs also counterattacked. Due to this, at least 30 Kforce jawans were seriously injured.

They are undergoing treatment at the hospital. It was then that the new force was announced. 90 percent of Kosovo's population is Albanian. The rest are Serbs. The area where the protests are taking place is near the border with Serbia. The region is dominated by Serbs. Since 2013, Serbs have been demanding that a separate municipal body be created for them. But the Prime Minister of Kosovo is not willing to accept it in any way.

According to him, Kosovo will be practically split in two if it is united. In protest of this, Sarbras boycotted the polls last April. Only three and a half percent votes were cast in that region. And Albanian mayors won that vote in the Serb region. Protests started last Monday when they went to sit in the municipal council. Kforce has surrounded every municipality with barbed wire.

They are patrolling outside. Municipalities are virtually surrounded. And the Serbs are protesting right outside it. Security has also been provided to the mayors. Serbia's president called the April election unfair. He also requested to reconsider the Serbs' claim. So far, 30 Kforce and 52 protesters have been injured and hospitalized in the fighting on Monday and Tuesday. Experts do not see any possibility of reducing the tension in the next few days.

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