Serbs Clash With NATO Peacekeepers
Four mayoral elections and two municipal assembly elections took place in Kosovo last month. The international community at large recognized these elections since it considers Kosovo to be an independent state. Serbia, however, rejected the elections and called on Serbs in Kosovo to boycott them. As a result, ethnic Albanians won in majority-Serb areas.
Over the weekend, the situation further escalated as Kosovo’s police raided Serb-dominated regions to seize local municipality buildings. This led to violent clashes on Monday between local Serbs and Kosovo’s police supported by peacekeeping forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The next day nato announced the deployment of extra forces to Kosovo.
The deployment of additional nato forces to Kosovo is a prudent measure to ensure that kfor (the Kosovo Force) has the capabilities it needs to maintain security in accordance with our [United Nations] Security Council mandate.
—Adm. Stuart B. Munsch, commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples
Growing tensions: Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia were all part of Yugoslavia. Kosovo was the last to declare independence from Serbia in 2008—without Serbia’s consent. Serbs living in the region consider themselves part of Serbia rather than an independent Kosovo. Tensions rose last year when Kosovo announced plans to replace Serbian license plates with Kosovo ones; 500 Serb officials on the police force, administrative staff and judges collectively resigned.
Provoked escalations? Video footage appears to show that the clash escalated after Kosovo’s security forces started to push, kick and grab unarmed protesters. This gives reason to believe the clashes were provoked to invite more nato support for Kosovo’s independence.
Watch Germany: As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains in Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans, Germany, which played a key role in Yugoslavia’s breakup, has a keen interest in this region. Yugoslavia was a Communist state, allied with the Soviet Union. Within Yugoslavia, the Serbs vehemently resisted Germany in World War ii. But Germany’s desire to rule over this region remains robust.
There is a reason why the international community is on the side of Kosovo against the Serb majority—that reason is Germany. To learn more, request a free copy of Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans.
