Tension remains high in northern Kosovo, shots reported

Jul 26, 2011, 15:17 GMT

Pristina/Belgrade/Brussels - Shots were reported in tense northern Kosovo after Kosovo police stormed the border checkpoints in the Serb-dominated north, Serb media reported.

According to Kosovo Serb sources, police opened fire in the vicinity of the Brnjak border crossing, wounding three people. There was no immediate confirmation of the report.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci denied earlier reports claiming that an agreement had been struck to withdraw Kosovo police commandos from Brnjak and another contested crossing, Jarninje, Beta news agency said.

Albanians are a 90-per-cent majority in Kosovo, but Serbs dominate the northernmost section. NATO's peacekeeping presence, KFOR, deployed units to the area to prevent an escalation.

Tensions flared Monday night in the wake of the Kosovo police operation. The Serbs responded by erecting barricades and blocking the traffic on the main north-south road.

The European Union, which maintains a law-enforcing mission in Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008, urged the Serbs, Belgrade and Pristina to resolve the issue in talks.

The EU also warned Kosovo against taking one-sided actions which may shatter the fragile peace.

'This (police operation) was not conducted in agreement with the EU or the international community,' EU foreign policy spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said in Brussels.

It was not fully clear who was controlling the checkpoints Tuesday afternoon.

Kosovo made its move after introducing an embargo on the import of Serbian goods, in response to failed talks aimed at liberalizing trade between Serbia and its former province.

The absence of an agreement on trade effectively leaves a Serbian ban on all products made in Kosovo that had been in place since the province announced its split more than three years ago.

Albanian politicians had begun showing impatience with the EU's EULEX over its reluctance to help Pristina assert control over the north and its Serb population, who enjoy political and financial backing from Serbia.

Several opposition parties backed Thaci's move to take control over the borders, and the Koha Ditore daily described it as the first attempt by Pristina to assert control over northern Kosovo.

Belgrade leaders insist that Serbia will never recognize its former province as a sovereign state but has made moves to ease humanitarian issues as it seeks to move closer to EU membership.

The latest round of the talks held since March under EU auspices was postponed last week as Serbia refused to lift an effective embargo it maintains on Kosovo's goods at its borders.

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