Dozens Reported Injured As Serbs, Kosovar Police Clash
Dozens Reported Injured As Serbs, Kosovar Police Clash
Police officers seized the clothes of Serbs with nationalist symbols who had gathered to celebrate St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan.
Some 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of a historic battle.
The incident happened on Kosovo's border with Serbia as police forced out a group of some 70 Serbs carrying banners with nationalist messages.
The group was on its way to Gazimestan, where Serbs mark the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, which they lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
Kosovo's Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi said some 30 officers were injured when the Serbs threw stones and other objects at police.
Belgrade media reported about 20 Serbs were injured, including one who was in a life-threatening condition and five others with gunshot wounds.
The UN condemned the flare-up in violence in Kosovo, and in particular an "attack on buses carrying a number of children of Serbian nationality."
The UN representative for Kosovo, Farid Zarif, called for calm and urged authorities to investigate Thursday's violence.
NATO also condemned the violence, and noted Molotov cocktails had been hurled at the buses.
Belgrade refuses to recognize the independence that majority ethnic Albanian Kosovo declared from Serbia in 2008.
Dozens Injured As Serbs, Kosovo Police Clash
1/16Ethnic Serbs gather to celebrate St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan, Kosovo, on June 28.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
2/16Kosovar police officers seized clothes with nationalist symbols worn by Serbs who had gathered in Gazimestan.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
3/16Kosovar police officers use force as Serbs resist efforts to remove clothes with nationalist symbols on their way to Gazimestan.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
4/16Ethnic Serbs carry national flags and pictures of ultranationalist leader Vojislav Seselj as they gather in Gazimestan.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
5/16Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej (second left) arrives to celebrate St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
6/16A police officer prevents an ethnic Serb from using a secondary road on his way to celebrate St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
7/16Serbs hold posters of former Bosnian Serb wartime military commander Ratko Mladic at an event to mark the battle anniversary in Gazimestan in 2011.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
8/16Serbs mark the anniversary of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Polje in Gazimestan in 2011.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
9/16Kosovo Serbs attend a ceremony marking the battle in Gazimestan in 2010.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
10/16Serbian Patriarch Irinej attends an event to mark the anniversary of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Polje at Gazimestan, near Pristina, on June 28, 2010.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
11/16Serbian Patriarch Irinej attends a ceremony marking the historic battle in Gazimestan in 2010.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
12/16Kosovo Serbs attend a ceremony marking the battle in Gazimestan in 2010.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
13/16Kosovar Serbs attend a ceremony marking the battle in Gazimestan in 2010.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
14/16A Kosovo Serb holds up a cross as he attends a ceremony marking the Battle of Kosovo Polje in Gazimestan in 2010.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
15/16A peacekeeper from the NATO-led force stands guard in front of a monument commemorating the Battle of Kosovo Polje in Gazimestan in 2007.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
16/16Serbs from Serbia take part in a ceremony to celebrate the battle in the town of Gazimestan in 2007.
About 50 people were reported injured in clashes between Kosovar police and visiting Serbs on their way to mark the anniversary of the historic Battle of Kosovo Polje, which Serbia lost to invading Ottoman Turks.
