Serbs Claiming that Kosovo Is Serbia

"LandepNews"

Serbs Claiming that Kosovo Is Serbia

NATO peacekeepers have clashed with the Serb protestors on Tuesday leaving 11 people wounded in northern Kosovo. The clash occurred at the border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia. The spokesman for NATO said that the violence began as soon as the Serbs began throwing pipebombs at the peacekeeping troops, injuring four of them. This determined the NATO troops to fire at the Serbs.

A hospital source said that seven people were brought to the hospital with injuries, but NATO spokesman said that only one man was injured during the clash. There were people injured in the head, legs, and chest.

The violence was triggered by the decision of the American and German peacekeepers to close an informal border crossing, used by the Serbs in the north of Kosovo to bypass the Kosovo police and smuggle products into their territory from neighboring Serbia.

A Serb leader blamed the violence today on the American troops, whom he accused of shooting live ammunition at the people who were protesting.

The situation in northern Kosovo became critical a few months ago, in July, when the prime minister Hashim Thaci decided to close the border crossings from Kosovo to Serbia.

He said it was about time Serbs in Kosovo came under the authority of the government in Pristina. He sent the police to close two of the border crossings which were making possible the transit of goods, so that the Serbs may survive, given that they are cut off from the rest of Kosovo.

Serbia has closed many of the crossings and imposed an embargo on Kosovo after products were coming with the stamp “Made in Kosovo” on them. As a result, the Kosovo government intended to close the crossings.

That sparked the fury of the people in the north, who erected roadblocks and began protecting against the police. The clashes caused one police officer in Kosovo to die and another one to be severely wounded.

The international community called on the leaders of Kosovo to refrain from antagonizing the Serbs, so that the fragile balance be preserved in this volatile land. They also dispatched troops from the important 3,000 EU mission and the 5,500 NATO-led peacekeepers to make sure that the situation does not degenerate.

Serbian and Kosovo authorities accused each other for this escalation of violence, even though the Serbian president asked the two sides to refrain from violence so that a negotiated solution can be found for the situation in this region of Serbia, which proclaimed itself independent in 2008.

Belgrade never recognized its independence, but now they must find a solution to come to terms with the Kosovan people, as they are pursuing the purpose of European integration, and in order to achieve this goal it must not have any conflicts with neighboring countries.

Thank's for link: