Tensions are not abating in Kosovo. NATO peacekeepers stepped up their security measures on Wednesday (May 31st) around a town hall in northern Kosovo, in front of which hundreds of Serb demonstrators gathered again after violent clashes that left more than 80 injured.

The region has been going from crisis to crisis for years, but the major powers have blamed Pristina for the latest incidents, with Paris blaming the Kosovar government in the wake of Washington's harsh words against its historic ally.

NATO has decided to send hundreds of reinforcements to the region to support troops already deployed by the KFor, the multinational force led by the Atlantic Alliance in the former province of Belgrade, after clashes with Serb demonstrators on Monday.

Hundreds of protesters gathered again Wednesday in front of the town hall of Zvecan, heavily protected by soldiers of the KFor, before leaving the scene after a few hours, reports an AFP correspondent.

The KFor surrounded the municipal building and reinforced its defense with barbed wire and a metal barrier.

The demonstrators unfurled a gigantic Serbian flag more than 200 meters long between the city center and the outskirts of the town hall. They also held up a banner dedicated to Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who wrote on camera after his first match at Roland Garros "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia".

According to Serbian state broadcaster RTS, protesters will return on Thursday.

See also North of Kosovo: what you need to know about tensions between Serbs and Kosovars

700 additional troops deployed

Many members of the majority Serb community in four cities in northern Kosovo do not recognize Pristina's authority, and are loyal to Belgrade.

Serbs boycotted the April municipal elections in these localities, resulting in the election of Albanian mayors with a turnout of less than 3.5%. Their inauguration last week by the Kosovar government set fire to the powder.

Three armoured vehicles of the special forces of the Kosovo police, whose presence still arouses the ire of many Serbs, were parked in front of the town hall.

The demonstrators are demanding the departure of Albanian mayors and the Kosovo police.

On Monday, thirty KFor soldiers were injured in clashes with Serb protesters, involving the throwing of Molotov cocktails and stones.

Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, denounced the attacks as "unacceptable" and announced the sending of reinforcements. "We have decided to deploy an additional 700 troops from the Western Balkans Operational Reserve Force and have put another reserve force battalion on high alert."

On the side of the demonstrators, Belgrade announced 52 wounded.

Emmanuel Macron points to the "responsibility" of the Kosovar authorities

Serbia, supported by its Russian and Chinese allies, has never recognized the independence proclaimed in 2008 by its former province, a decade after a deadly war between Serb forces and Albanian independence rebels.

French President Emmanuel Macron denounced Pristina's "responsibility" for the latest bout of fever. "Very clearly, there is a responsibility of the Kosovar authorities in the current situation and a non-respect of an agreement that was nevertheless important and that was sealed just a few weeks ago," he said, referring to an agreement aimed at normalization recently announced by the European Union.

The day before, the United States, Kosovo's main allies, whose independence it defended, had also questioned the responsibility of Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti in the crisis. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his decision on mayors had "sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions".

Albin Kurti assured that Pristina "was working hard to find a way out", believing that the pace of meetings held under the leadership of Brussels should be more sustained. "We need more dialogue, not high-level meetings every two months," he said.

The war in Kosovo, home to 1.8 million Albanians, ended in 1999 with a NATO bombing campaign led by the United States.

The Serb minority has 120,000 members, about one third of whom live in the north. Belgrade is demanding the implementation of a 2013 agreement providing for the creation of an association of ten Serb-majority municipalities. But many Kosovar Albanians fear the creation of a parallel government controlled by Serbia.

The Kremlin gave its "unconditional support" to the Kosovo Serbs, adding that all their "legitimate rights and interests must be respected".

With AFP

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