Nato struggles to keep the peace
Nato is sending 700 troops to Kosovo to try to keep the peace after Serb protestors attempted to storm a governmental building and injured 30 peacekeepers. The current crisis stems from events in April when ethnic Serbs boycotted local elections in the north of the country where they are the majority. Pristina proceeded to fill northern governmental posts with ethnic Albanians on a tiny voter turnout. Serbia and its ally Russia do not recognise the small country that declared independence in 2008. Kosovo’s President claims Belgrade is now using far-right groups to sow chaos in the north. Peace in the Balkans looks fragile indeed.
Photograph Georgi Licovski/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock