Kosovo: Fresh clashes as Nato troops called in to northern towns

Nato has condemned arsenic "totally unacceptable" attacks by demonstrators successful Kosovo that near immoderate 25 of its peacekeepers injured.

Police and Nato troops clashed with Serb protestors successful the northbound wherever determination has been unrest implicit the installation of taste Albanian mayors.

Tear state and stun grenades were utilized to deter protesters successful Zvecan, aft they tried to invade a authorities building.

Nato soldiers besides formed a information cordon astir 2 different municipality halls.

The situation dates backmost to April erstwhile Kosovo Serbs boycotted section elections, allowing taste Albanians to instrumentality power section councils with a turnout of little than 4 per cent.

Nato peacekeepers from Italy and Hungary were among those wounded successful the latest unit connected Monday, with 3 of them near successful a superior condition, a Nato spokesperson told the BBC.

The Nato-led troops successful Zvecan astatine archetypal tried to abstracted protesters from the police, but aboriginal dispersed the assemblage utilizing shields and batons, AFP reported.

Several protestors threw rocks and Molotov cocktails astatine the soldiers, the bureau said.

Nato called the attacks "totally unacceptable" adding successful a connection that it called connected each sides to "refrain from actions that further inflame tensions, and to prosecute successful dialogue".

Eleven Nato soldiers from Italy were among those wounded successful the latest unit connected Monday, with 3 of them near successful a superior condition.

Serbian President Aleksander Vucic enactment the service connected the highest level of combat alert successful effect to the caller protests. He moved service units adjacent to Kosovo's border connected Friday, pursuing akin clashes.

The lawman caput of the Serb List, the biggest Kosovo Serb enactment backed by the authorities successful Belgrade, has accused Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti of trying to make chaos for everyone successful the region.

"Do not let those fake mayors to entering present due to the fact that they won 50 votes," said Igor Simic. "Even Albanians are not voting for it."

The caller upset began aft Kosovo Serbs - who relationship for astir 5% of the country's 1.8 cardinal colonisation wide - boycotted April's section elections successful 4 bluish municipalities that are bulk Serb. This allowed taste Albanians to instrumentality power of the councils.

Belgrade backed the boycott - resulting successful a turnout of conscionable 3.47% - which was sparked aft the Serb assemblage demanded the constitution of a promised relation of Serbian municipalities.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independency from Serbia successful February 2008, aft years of strained relations betwixt its Serb and chiefly Albanian inhabitants.

It has been recognised by the United States and large European Union countries, but Serbia, backed by its almighty state Russia, refuses to bash so, arsenic bash astir taste Serbs wrong Kosovo.

Despite its support, the US has criticised Kosovo implicit the determination to instal the Albanian officials, saying it had "sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions successful the region" and had served to undermine efforts to "normalise relations betwixt Kosovo and Serbia".