Serbia calls NATO to take over policing of northern Kosovo after a deadly clash

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vučić, has called for a NATO-led peacekeeping force to replace the national law enforcement agency in northern Kosovo following one of the most serious clashes between the two sides which resulted in a fatality and casualties.

As reported by AP, the violent confrontation occurred between armed Serbs and Kosovar police, ending in the death of one officer and three gunmen. It involved approximately 30 masked men who attacked a police patrol near the village of Banjska on September 24, after which they forcibly entered a Serbian Orthodox monastery, taking priests and visiting pilgrims hostage.

President Vučić met with ambassadors from five Western countries and the European Union in Belgrade on September 26, where he expressed his desire for the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) to take over all security responsibilities in northern Kosovo, replacing the Kosovo Prime Minister's police forces.

This outbreak of violence has heightened tensions in the Balkan region, especially at a time when the European Union and US mediators have been working towards a deal to normalize relations between Serbia and the by Belgrade unrecognized Kosovar authorities.

Caliber.Az recalls, that the latest round of negotiations between the two sides under the mediation of EU Foreign Chief Josep Borrell led to no improvement of relations.