NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Thursday for the avoidance of any escalation in Kosovo after a May incident in which 93 members of KFOR, the NATO-led multinational force deployed in the former Serbian province, were injured.
“It is essential to avoid any escalation. I therefore urge all parties to avoid any rhetoric that adds fuel to the fire,” Mr Stoltenberg said in Brussels, alongside the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu.
The incident occurred after Serbs boycotted local elections in northern Kosovo, home to the country's Serb minority and the scene of recurrent unrest. As the newly elected mayors, all ethnic Albanians, tried to take office, some Serbs tried to prevent them amid violent protests.
Protesters clashed with local police and attacked KFOR contingents deployed to the region to contain the demonstrations, according to the NATO-led mission.
The attack on KFOR left 93 people injured, some of them "with life-altering wounds," Stoltenberg said, describing the attack as "totally unacceptable." He called for those responsible for the attack to be held to account.
The Kosovo president charged that “those who attacked NATO on 29 May are clearly known to law enforcement agencies.” Some of them "are police officers who came all the way from Serbia," she said.
“They have not been suspended from their jobs,” President Osmani-Sadriu added. “They’re not facing any consequences whatsoever.”
Around 120,000 Serbs live in Kosovo, which has a total population of 1.8 million, the vast majority of whom are ethnic Albanians.
