The security situation in Zveçan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok appears calmer this morning. The Kosovo Police announces that no incident has been registered, while clarifying that it is performing its duties according to its commitments.
Kosovo Police and KFOR have surrounded the municipal headquarters since early this morning. Dozens of Serbian citizens have gathered in Zveçan.
The mayor of the municipality of Zveçan, Ilir Peci, announced that today he will not appear in the central offices of the municipality due to protests and tensions. Peci said that he has positioned the work today together with his cabinet in a different environment, after talks with KFOR and the police. But he says he believes they will return to headquarters again.
In Zubin Patok, as was warned, the Serbian residents have gathered again to protest against the assumption of office by the Albanian mayors. For his part, the elected mayor of Izmir Zeqiri declares that because of this situation he will not go to the offices of the municipal headquarters, adding that the mayor of Zveçan, Ilir Peci, will also do the same.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense of Kosovo announced that, due to the situation in the north of Kosovo, the activities planned for today within the framework of the international exercise "Defender Europe '23" are cancelled, without giving more details.
Western diplomats and institutional leaders condemned the violence in Zvecan, where groups of Serbian protesters clashed with NATO peacekeeping forces. About 30 soldiers were injured, as were dozens of protesters.
Tensions in the north increased as early as May 26, when the Kosovo Police forcefully entered the Serb-majority municipalities: Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic to help the new Albanian mayors take office after the extraordinary elections in April.
The Kosovo authorities blamed the illegal Serbian structures for the violence in the north, while the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučič, made the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, responsible. The international community asked Kosovo not to take any measures to forcibly enter the buildings of the three municipalities.