Kosovo police officer opened fire on local Serbs before clashes: Serbian president

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Monday that a police officer in Kosovo opened fire on protesting Serbs with an assault rifle before clashes broke out in its ethnic-Serb dominated northern municipalities.

Vucic, however, denied reports of shots being fired by the NATO-led peacekeeping mission Kosovo Force (KFOR).

''A Kosovo Police officer opened fire with an automatic rifle at the Serbs, hitting at least one person before the Serbs responded with stones,” he said

He added that 52 Serbs were injured in the clashes, three of them seriously.

Earlier, NATO, the European Union and the US urged the Kosovo authorities to withdraw the special police units from the northern municipalities.

Vucic said that Igor Simic, the deputy head of the Serb List party, and Goran Rakic, the head of the party, were in the first row of the protesters when the police started hitting them, and Dragisa Milovic, another Serb politician in Kosovo, suffered serious injuries.

“Then they got up. They hit and kicked them. They tried to drag Simic in. The Serbs barely separated him. They started throwing stun grenades at the people. Some of them hid and some of them fought back with their fists. A member of ROSU (Kosovo's special operations units) knelt on the ground with a Kalashnikov (rifle) and fired several shots in the direction of the retreating Serbs, hitting one of them in the pelvis, stomach and hand. Then the Serbs responded with stones and in other ways,'' he said.

He added that 50-year-old Dragisa Galjak underwent surgery after losing so much blood.

Vucic said he would be visiting the Serbian military in several places along the administrative border with Kosovo.

''We will not allow a pogrom of the Kosovo Serbs,'' he said.

He also scheduled a meeting with the ambassadors of the US, Britain, France, Italy and Germany as well as with the head of the European Union delegation for Tuesday morning.

Serbia’s Ambassador to the US, Marko Duric, said that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is personally responsible for the blood spilled in the north of Kosovo.

''The final hour has come for the international community to take decisive action against Albin Kurti’s destructive agenda. We've been sounding the alarm for months, and now it's crucial to prevent further conflict and protect innocent lives. Turning a blind eye to the situation is not an option,” said Duric.

Meanwhile, Kurti said he had a meeting with the ambassadors of Western powers known as the Quint from the US, France, Italy, Germany and the UK.

“I share the concern about the violence & condemn attacks against @Kosovo_Police, @NATO_KFOR & journalists. Ultra-nationalistic Serb graffiti on NATO vehicles is a dark reminder in Kosovo. We stand for peace & security,” said Kurti on Twitter.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that blind aggressors are responsible for the injuries to the KFOR soldiers.

''The injury of KFOR soldiers directly holds the blind aggressors responsible, and unfortunately harms Kosovo in the eyes of its irreplaceable allies and friends! The longer this dangerous and unnecessary conflict lasts, the more Kosovo is hurt,'' he said.

Rama called on Kosovo to listen its allies and to not venture further down a dangerous path.

“My call (is) to listen carefully to those allies and not venture further into not only a dangerous path but also a futile one - where Kosovo is being internationally harmed along with the KFOR soldiers who are being physically injured - isn’t an international call but a national need!'' he said.

At least 25 KFOR soldiers were injured Monday in clashes with protesting Serbs.

Tensions have gripped Kosovo, with protesters and security forces clashing in the country's northern Serb-dominated municipalities over the election of ethnic Albanian mayors.

Among the injured soldiers were 11 Italians, Italian news outlet ANSA reported, citing official sources.

Three Italian nationals are said to be in a "serious but not life-threatening condition," said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

- Mayoral elections

Serb protesters have gathered outside the Serb-dominated Zvecan municipality in northern Kosovo since Monday morning to bar newly elected Albanian mayors from entering three municipal buildings.

The protesters attempted to breach a police cordon in front of the town hall, the police said in a statement, adding they used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

KFOR units also used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesters, who did not retreat and responded with stones and sticks.

Last month, Kosovo Serbs boycotted extraordinary local government elections for four municipalities in the country's north. Only 3.47% of eligible voters cast ballots, according to the Kosovo Central Election Commission (KQZ).

After the elections, the European Union said in a statement that the low turnout did not provide municipalities with long-term political solutions.

As tensions heightened in the region, Serbia ordered its army to advance to the border with Kosovo and urged NATO to “stop the violence against local Serbs in Kosovo.”

Kosovo Serbs on Saturday called on Vucic to suspend the ongoing dialogue process for normalizing relations with Kosovo, whose 2008 independence from neighboring Serbia has never been recognized.

The EU requires Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement and resolve disputes to progress in their integration into the bloc.