The tension that started in northern Kosovo on the occasion of the swearing-in of four mayors of Albanian origin in many cities with predominantly Serb populations, which continued yesterday for the seventh day. IN Tsvetanone of the cities at the center of the incidents, yesterday about 70 protesters again gathered near the city hall, which was fortified with barbed wire and guarded by peacekeepers. NATO forces who have been active in Kosovo for at least two decades (KFOR).

At the same time, and for the first time since the riots began, it happened in her divided city. Mitrovica demonstration of Albanian-speaking residents. The demonstration, which included people with the flags of Greater Albania and the nationalist Kosovo Liberation Army (UTSEKA) among others, was largely organized by social media. According to the network France23, the initial goal of the demonstrators was to get to the bridge dividing the city and cross into the northern part, inhabited by the Serb population. However, strong police forces, supported by KFOR forces, blocked the bridge with a metal fence, making it impossible to cross. The demonstration ended about an hour after it started.

Albanians make up about 90% of Kosovo’s population, but Serbs are the majority in the north of the country and are demanding the creation of a Union of Serbian Municipalities that would recognize them with some form of autonomy. This request was also accepted by the EU. and was institutionalized by the 2013 Brussels Agreement, but Pristina refuses to implement it. In municipal elections last April, Serbs boycotted the process in the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvecan and Zubin Potok, with only 3.5% of registered voters electing Albanian mayors. Now Serbs in the north are demanding the abolition of municipal elections and the withdrawal of mayors and the Kosovo police from their districts.

Against leaders

Skirmish between Kosovo President Viosa Osmani and her Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić at a summit in Moldova.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has in recent days accused Prime Minister Albin Kurti of deliberately pushing appointments to stoke tensions while calling on his country’s military to be on “high alert” and ordering military units to move closer to the border with Kosovo. For his part, Kurti said he “could consider holding new elections if the protests were peaceful,” but he’s not going to back down “in front of these criminals who are beating cops and soldiers.”

At a summit in Moldova on Thursday, attended by more than 40 European heads of state and under international pressure to reduce tensions, Vučić exchanged bitter words with his Kosovo counterpart Viosa Osmani. “We all know that the problem comes from Serbia’s refusal to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. President Vučić must stop supporting criminal gangs. This is what he must do if he really wants peace,” Osmani said.

“Serbia will do everything possible to resolve the situation. We will try to convince the Serbs to demonstrate calmly and peacefully. But they are very determined. Kosovo must recall the alleged mayors and remove the police who are illegally in the districts,” Vučić replied from a castle on the outskirts of Chisinau where the meeting took place.

The international community is watching the conflicts with concern. The US ambassador in Pristina has made scathing remarks in recent days, saying that Kosovo has made unilateral decisions that undermine stability and that the US, the country’s traditional ally, will no longer “enthusiastically” advance its demands for independence. On Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said he would send another 700 NATO troops to northern Kosovo as an emergency reserve.

Djokovic doesn’t call back

In the early days of the clashes, the Serbian superstar and No. 3 in world tennis came out in favor of the Serbian minority. From Paris, where he is at the Roland Garros tournament, Novak Djokovic said to the camera: “Kosovo is Serbia. Stop the violence, ”and next to it he drew a heart. At a press conference he gave later, “Nole” explained that as the son of a man who grew up in northern Kosovo, he cannot help but support his people, referring to his father, who grew up and was born in Cvetsan. On Wednesday, after defeating Hungary’s Marton Fusovic, when asked about his previous statements, Djokovic replied: “I know many may disagree, but that’s the way it is. This is what I believe in and I have nothing more to say.” For its part, the Kosovo Olympic Committee sent an angry message to the World Tennis Organization asking the Serbian athlete to be reprimanded, which was refused, stating that for athletes “no rules prohibit political statements.”