Belgrade (EFE).- Dozens of Serb protesters have gathered again today in front of the Town Halls of two municipalities in the north of Kosovo that are guarded by NATO soldiers, to demand the withdrawal of the mayors of the Albanian majority, whose authority does not recognize.
Soldiers from KFOR, the NATO mission in the area, have reinforced the metal barriers with razor wire in front of the Zvecan municipal facility.
In that town, there were clashes with violent demonstrators on Monday that left more than 80 injured, 30 of them soldiers.
Faced with the increase in tensions, NATO has announced that it will reinforce its mission in the coming days with 700 new soldiers in northern Kosovo, a contingent that could be maintained “for a long time” as indicated today by the Chief of Staff of the Defender of Italy, Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.
Prime Minister refuses to remove mayors
In addition, units of the Kosovo special police with armored vehicles are present in the area, whose march is also demanded by the Serbs, a minority nationality in Kosovo but the main community in the north of the country.
Among the demonstrators are the Serb employees of the City Hall, to which they have not had access since last Friday the Kosovar police forcibly broke the Serb blockade to allow the mayors to pass.
The councilors were elected in April in elections that the Serbs boycotted and in which the participation was barely 3%.
Numerous citizens are also gathered in front of the municipal buildings in the towns of Leposavic and Zubin Potok, in protest against the elections.
Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti, last night rejected the possibility of removing the mayors.
Kosovo, a former Serbian province populated by a large majority of Albanians, proclaimed its independence in 2008, which Serbia does not recognize.
Both countries are negotiating the normalization of their relations on a new EU plan, supported by the United States.