Kosovo lawmakers engaged in a short brawl Thursday as feelings ran excessive throughout a parliament debate over measures to defuse tensions in Serb enclaves within the nation’s north.
The melee kicked off as Prime Minister Albin Kurti addressed the home and was doused with water by a rival lawmaker.
The transfer sparked a chaotic brawl as legislators clashed in shoving matches. There had been no reviews of accidents following the incident.
Kosovo’s parliament isn’t any stranger to fiery showdowns.
During his years in opposition, Kurti gained notoriety for unleashing tear fuel canisters throughout legislative classes, forcing lawmakers to don fuel masks as noxious smoke crammed the chamber.
Thursday’s scrap comes with Kurti vowing to de-escalate tensions in northern Kosovo, the place strain has been mounting following his authorities’s resolution to put in ethnic Albanian mayors in 4 Serb-majority municipalities in May.
The transfer has triggered one of many worst bouts of unrest within the north in years, with demonstrations, the arrest of three Kosovar cops by Serbia and a violent riot by Serb protesters that noticed greater than 30 NATO peacekeepers injured.
Opposition events in Kosovo have develop into more and more essential of Kurti’s dealing with of the disaster and accused the prime minister of undermining Pristina’s relations with an array of Western allies.
Kurti is ready to satisfy Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic subsequent week in Brussels the place the 2 sides are beneath heavy strain from the European Union to dial down tensions.
The tussle within the north is simply the newest in an extended checklist of incidents to rock the world since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 – almost a decade after NATO forces helped push Serbian troops from the previous province throughout a bloody conflict that killed round 13,000 folks.
Belgrade – together with its key allies China and Russia – has refused to acknowledge Kosovo’s independence, successfully stopping it from having a seat on the United Nations.
Kosovo is overwhelmingly populated by ethnic Albanians, however within the northern stretches of the territory close to the border with Serbia, ethnic Serbs stay the bulk in a number of municipalities.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
