NATO commander in Kosovo says forces are ready to act

Commanders of NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo on Tuesday declared their forces were ready to quell any further bouts of unrest following violent protests last month in the north of the country.

Commanders of Nato peacekeepers in Kosovo came under attack last month in the north of the country. © AP/Dejan Simicevic

Around 30 NATO soldiers and 50 demonstrators were injured during clashes outside three town halls.

"We plan to face any kind of circumstances," said Angelo Michele Ristuccia, who is leading the Nato forces known as KFOR.

Nato, which has been guarding Kosovo since the Kosovo War ended in 1999, decided to deploy an extra 700 troops and put another battalion on high alert, bringing its force to about 4,500.

"That's the reason why we received additional forces. We do not react, we act," he added.

Ristuccia, who is headquartered on the outskirts of the capital Pristina, said the situation remained tense, despite relative calm over the past week.

"There is not a military solution at this moment because the only way to solve this situation is a political decision which is based on the will of both sides to normalise their relations. But first to de-escalate," Ristuccia said.

Flare-up

Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority boycotted April local elections in the north, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a turnout of less than 3.5 percent.

Many Serbs are demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo special police forces, as well as the ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their true representatives.

The United States – Kosovo's historic ally who championed the former province's independence from Serbia – criticised the government in Pristina for sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions by installing ethnic Albanian mayors.

The French President Emmanuel Macron also said Kosovo authorities bore responsibility for the situation.

The US and the European Union have called on the Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to withdraw the mayors and remove the special police used to install them.