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KOSOVO TENSE AFTER DEADLY CLASH ON SERBIAN BORDER
ARMENPRESS
July 27, 2011
YEREVAN
International concern has been raised over a Kosovo police bid to
take over two border crossings in the ethnic Serb north in which one
officer was killed.
Kosovo police units, who came under fire, pulled back after Serbs
refusing to recognise their authority took up arms and mounted
roadblocks.
Nato-led peacekeepers moved into the area to calm the situation.
The US and EU criticised the Kosovan government for acting without
consulting international bodies.
Serbia refused to recognise the formal secession declared by the
ethnic Albanian majority in 2008, and maintains close ties with the
region north of Mitrovica, where ethnic Serbs have their main enclave.
Kosovo's government in Pristina says its police force acted on Monday
night after its decision last week to ban Serbian goods from entering
Kosovan territory, in response to an equivalent ban by Serbia.
Since the war in 1999, Kosovo has been controlled by international
bodies, including a 3,000-strong EU rule of law mission, which oversee
the territory's own new authorities.
Nato's Kosovo commander, Maj Gen Erhard Buehler, is believed to have
secured a withdrawal of the police units from the border crossings
as part of a deal reached with the Kosovan authorities, but Pristina
denied any deal had been reached, the Associated Press reports.
Ethnic Albanian policeman Enver Zymberi died late on Tuesday from
injuries he suffered when his unit was ambushed, Kosovo police said.
Another officer was reportedly injured.
Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci defended the police operation at
a news conference in Pristina, saying: "We cannot stay indifferent
and tolerate forever that a part of our territory is to be a black
hole not only of Kosovo but of the Europe.
"We cannot tolerate forever that our sovereignty is violated."
Policing in north Kosovo has until now been largely conducted by EU
officers and Serb members of the Kosovo police.
Oliver Ivanovic, Serbia's state secretary for Kosovo, warned the
situation was "extremely tense" and described Pristina's police
operation as a "hastily made, unexplainable gesture".
A US state department spokeswoman said: "The United States regrets that
last night's action by the Kosovo government... was not co-ordinated
with the international community."
The US, she added, urged both Pristina and Belgrade "to continue to
work urgently toward a de-escalation of the current situation".
In Brussels, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton said: "We believe the operation by the Kosovo authorities was
not helpful. We do not approve it."
ARMENPRESS
July 27, 2011
YEREVAN
International concern has been raised over a Kosovo police bid to
take over two border crossings in the ethnic Serb north in which one
officer was killed.
Kosovo police units, who came under fire, pulled back after Serbs
refusing to recognise their authority took up arms and mounted
roadblocks.
Nato-led peacekeepers moved into the area to calm the situation.
The US and EU criticised the Kosovan government for acting without
consulting international bodies.
Serbia refused to recognise the formal secession declared by the
ethnic Albanian majority in 2008, and maintains close ties with the
region north of Mitrovica, where ethnic Serbs have their main enclave.
Kosovo's government in Pristina says its police force acted on Monday
night after its decision last week to ban Serbian goods from entering
Kosovan territory, in response to an equivalent ban by Serbia.
Since the war in 1999, Kosovo has been controlled by international
bodies, including a 3,000-strong EU rule of law mission, which oversee
the territory's own new authorities.
Nato's Kosovo commander, Maj Gen Erhard Buehler, is believed to have
secured a withdrawal of the police units from the border crossings
as part of a deal reached with the Kosovan authorities, but Pristina
denied any deal had been reached, the Associated Press reports.
Ethnic Albanian policeman Enver Zymberi died late on Tuesday from
injuries he suffered when his unit was ambushed, Kosovo police said.
Another officer was reportedly injured.
Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci defended the police operation at
a news conference in Pristina, saying: "We cannot stay indifferent
and tolerate forever that a part of our territory is to be a black
hole not only of Kosovo but of the Europe.
"We cannot tolerate forever that our sovereignty is violated."
Policing in north Kosovo has until now been largely conducted by EU
officers and Serb members of the Kosovo police.
Oliver Ivanovic, Serbia's state secretary for Kosovo, warned the
situation was "extremely tense" and described Pristina's police
operation as a "hastily made, unexplainable gesture".
A US state department spokeswoman said: "The United States regrets that
last night's action by the Kosovo government... was not co-ordinated
with the international community."
The US, she added, urged both Pristina and Belgrade "to continue to
work urgently toward a de-escalation of the current situation".
In Brussels, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton said: "We believe the operation by the Kosovo authorities was
not helpful. We do not approve it."