NATO peacekeeping soldiers form security cordons around three town halls in Kosovo’s Serb majority areas to protect them from hundreds of angry protesters
Kosova police and NATO forces were seen protecting the municipality building in Zvecan, one of the four communes to hold snap election last month that was largely boycotted by Serbs [Photo: Reuters]
NATO peacekeeping soldiers have formed security cordons around three town halls in Kosovo to keep back Serbs protesting at ethnic Albanian mayors taking office in a Serb majority area after elections they boycotted. In Zvecan, one of the towns, Kosovo state police - staffed entirely by ethnic Albanians after all Serbs quit the force last year - sprayed pepper gas to repel a crowd of Serbs who broke through a security barricade and tried to force their way into the municipality building, witnesses said.
In Leposavic, close to the border with Serbia, US peacekeeping troops in anti-riot gear placed barbed wire around the municipality building to protect it from hundreds of angry Serbs gathering nearby. NATO peacekeepers also blocked off the town hall in Zubin Potok to protect it from angry local Serbs, witnesses said.
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