The United States announced on Tuesday (May 30th) the exclusion of Kosovo from a program of military exercises, a first sanction after Pristina's decision to install Albanian mayors in northern cities with a Serb majority, a source of renewed tensions.

Western powers have called for de-escalation after violent clashes Monday in front of a town hall during which about thirty international soldiers led by NATO and fifty protesters were injured.

Jeffrey Hovenier, US ambassador to Pristina, announced the exclusion of Kosovo from Defender 23, a program of joint military exercises involving more than 20 countries that began in April and is scheduled to last until the end of June in Europe. "For Kosovo, this exercise is over," Jeffrey Hovenier told reporters.

In 1999, a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbian troops to withdraw from Kosovo. Since then, NATO has been conducting a peacekeeping operation in this Albanian-majority territory, which proclaimed its independence in 2008 and which Serbia still refuses to recognize.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken once again criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti, saying his decision on mayors had "sharply and unnecessarily aggravated tensions". He called on "all parties to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions" and condemned the "unacceptable violence" against peacekeepers.

Jeffrey Hovenier has threatened to take unprecedented steps to end diplomatic support for international recognition of the Balkan territory, whose independence remains contested by Russia, China and some European countries. "We have asked Prime Minister Kurti very directly to take immediate steps to achieve de-escalation in the north. He did not respond to these requests," the ambassador said.

Very tense situation

In recent days, the situation has been very tense in this region of Kosovo, where many members of the majority Serb community in four cities do not recognize Pristina's authority.

The Serbs boycotted the April municipal elections in these localities, which resulted in the election of Albanian mayors despite the very low turnout, at less than 3.5%. These mayors were sworn in last week by the government, with the prime minister ignoring calls for appeasement. The Serb protesters who had gathered in particular in front of the municipality of Zvecan are demanding the withdrawal of Albanian mayors and Kosovar security forces.

The NATO-led international force tried Monday to separate the two sides before starting to disperse the most violent protesters, who responded by throwing stones, bottles and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers.

With AFP

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