Berlin [Germany], January 2: Kosovan Prime Minister AlbinKurti called for NATO to boost its peacekeeping force in Kosovo after ethnic tensions once again flared with Serbia.
"A substantial increase in NATO soldiers and military equipment in our country would improve security and peace in Kosovo and in the entire Western Balkans region," Kurti told Germany's Die Welt newspaper.
The NATO-led KFOR protection force has been tasked with guaranteeing security across Kosovo since 1999, following a war over the region that ended the same year. It comprises nearly 3,800 soldiers from more than two dozen countries.
Kosovo, which today is almost exclusively inhabited by ethnic Albanians, used to belong to Serbia but has been independent since 2008. Serbia does not accept its independence and claims the territory of the country for itself.
In recent weeks, Serb militants have erected barricades at a dozen locations in northern Kosovo, including blocking access routes to two border crossings with Serbia.
They were protesting the arrest of a former Serbian official in the Kosovo police force who, according to Kosovo authorities, had masterminded attacks on election authorities.
The sabre-rattling grew louder in late December but then eased after Serbian President AleksandarVucic announced that the barricades would be dismantled by the militants.
Source: Qatar Tribune
