Kosovo: Roads blocked as violence between Serb protestors and police continues

Serb protesters successful bluish Kosovo blocked roads for a 2nd time connected Sunday pursuing an speech of occurrence with police.

Trucks and different heavy-duty vehicles blocked respective main roads starring to 2 borderline crossings with Serbia.

Longstanding tensions betwixt authorities and Kosovo's Serb number person been rising successful caller weeks.

The latest protests were triggered by the apprehension of a erstwhile Serb constabulary serviceman connected Saturday.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti described the protesters arsenic "criminal gangs" and asked the Nato-led peacekeeping Kosovo Force (KFOR) to region the barricades.

The EU called for bid to beryllium restored, saying a stun grenade deed 1 of its armoured vehicles patrolling bluish Kosovo connected Saturday evening.

Kosovo constabulary said they came nether occurrence successful antithetic locations adjacent to a water bordering Serbia precocious connected Saturday, with officers returning occurrence successful self-defence.

It comes aft Kosovo deployed constabulary to majority-Serb areas - which bash not recognise the Kosovo authorities successful the superior Pristina - astatine the extremity of past week. This heightened tensions further, aft they were already raised for months implicit a enactment astir conveyance licence plates.

Serbia has said the usage of constabulary violates erstwhile bid agreements. President Aleksandar Vucic said helium planned to inquire Nato peacekeepers for support to nonstop Serbian constabulary and troops to the area, though acknowledged determination was small accidental of this being granted.

Kosovo declared independency successful 2008, pursuing a bloody year-long warfare a decennary earlier. Serbia does not recognise it arsenic a sovereign state, nevertheless does judge the governing authorization nether an statement brokered successful 2013 to normalise relations.

The constabulary serviceman arrested connected Saturday was 1 of immoderate 600 taste Serbs who resigned from the unit successful November successful protestation aft authorities successful Kosovo said they would necessitate Serbs to swap Serbian licence plates dating to earlier the 1998-99 warfare for Kosovan ones.

Some 50,000 radical successful majority-Serb areas person truthful acold refused to usage Kosovo fig plates due to the fact that they bash not recognise its independency from Serbia.

A woody brokered by the EU astatine the extremity of November saw an uneasy statement reached betwixt the 2 sides, with Kosovo dropping plans to good radical who did not swap the plates, and Serbia agreeing to halt issuing registrations with the initials of towns successful Kosovo.