The situation remains tense in Kosovo where 30 uniformed NATO peacekeepers were wounded yesterday in clashes with Serbs protesting Albanians’ acceptance of the mayor’s office in Serb-majority municipalities.

Among the injured are 11 Italians, three of them are in serious condition with Molotov cocktails and injuries, but nothing threatens their lives.

A statement from the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, said: “While we were dealing with the most marginal elements of the mafia, several soldiers of the Italian and Hungarian corps of KFOR were attacked unprovoked and injured with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices.”

“Unprovoked strikes against NATO units are unacceptable and KFOR will continue to carry out its mandate with impartiality,” said KFOR Commander Angelo Michele Ristuccia. KFOR fighters tried to pull out the armored car of the Kosovo police, which was under the cordon of protesters in front of the city hall, a clash ensued. KFOR used tear gas and stun grenades.

Protesters responded by throwing rocks and other objects, and setting a Kosovo police car on fire.

Serbian political representatives say that “peaceful demonstrations will continue until the Kosovo police leave the municipal buildings.” The National Council of Serbs has decided that all schools in northern Kosovo will not be open today.

It is noted that last Friday, May 26, Kosovo police intervened in 4 cities in the north to disperse meetings of the Serbian population that prevented the newly elected mayors from taking office.

On the same day, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić put the country’s army on full alert and ordered its units to approach the border with Kosovo.

What’s going on in Kosovo?

The tension in Kosovo has a certain “root”. On April 23, municipal elections were held in the cities of North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavich and Zubin Potok, which the Serbs, at the insistence of Belgrade, decided to boycott. Participation was declared by only one combination representing the Serbs.

The results of the elections were not recognized by the representatives of the Serbian community. Serbs are calling for elections to be held after the Union of Serbian Municipalities is established for the first time, a commitment that Pristina made in 2013 under the Brussels Agreement but refuses to honor.

The normalization of bilateral relations between the two countries is a condition for their accession to the EU, which now seems to be moving away. The two prime ministers, Aleksandar Vučić and Albin Kurti, disagreed on a structure that would give greater autonomy to the Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo. The Serbian side makes this a condition for its participation in the institutions of Pristina. Something that the Prime Minister of Kosovo rejects, as he told reporters after the meeting, explaining the reasons.

After 15 years, the region is still in a phase of “dangerous uncertainty”.

Kosovo and Serbia have been in talks for more than a decade with EU support, but despite both countries’ ambitions to join the EU, little progress has been made so far and experts say things are not getting better, Gzero continues his analysis. “There is no trust between the two sides” and a lot of animosity between them, says Marko Prelec of Crisis Group.

Much of this tension is concentrated in Mitrovica and other parts of northern Kosovo. There are schools and hospitals run not by Pristina but by Belgrade, and the Serb minority there is reacting to Kosovo’s attempts to impose its rule.

Tensions will peak in 2022, when both sides will fight over a number of issues: regarding policing, the functioning of institutions, car license plates (and the authority to which they report), etc. Scenes from last year with barricades, violent clashes and threats the entry of Serbian troops evoke memories. So far, however, the tension has not gotten out of hand.

According to G-Zero, Reuters, APE-MPE.