NATO peacekeepers secure Kosovo town halls in standoff with Serb protesters

NATO peacekeeping soldiers formed security cordons around four town halls in Kosovo on Monday to keep back Serbs protesting at ethnic Albanian mayors taking office in a Serb majority area after elections they boycotted.

In Zvecan, one of the towns, Kosovo state police - staffed entirely by ethnic Albanians after all Serbs quit the force last year - sprayed pepper gas to repel a crowd of Serbs who broke through a security barricade and tried to force their way into the municipality building, witnesses said, accordint to Reuters.

In Leposavic, close to the border with Serbia, US peacekeeping troops in anti-riot gear placed barbed wire around the municipality building to protect it from hundreds of angry Serbs gathering nearby.

"This morning [May 29], the NATO-led KFOR mission has increased its presence in four municipalities of northern Kosovo following the latest developments in the area," a KFOR statement said.

"In line with its mandate, KFOR is ready to take all necessary actions to ensure a safe environment in a neutral and impartial manner," it said, adding that KFOR's commander was in close contact with the security organs of Kosovo and Serbia.
KFOR troops also acted to protect the town halls in Zubin Potok and North Mitrovica from possible threats.

Serbs, who form a majority in Kosovo's north, have never accepted its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia and still see Belgrade as their capital more than two decades after the Kosovo Albanian uprising against repressive Serbian rule.

Serbia has also refused to recognise an independent Kosovo.