New escalation feared
Kosovar soldier shot and wounded 11 and 21-year-old Serbs
Tense situation in Kosovo: On Orthodox Christmas Eve, a Kosovo soldier fired shots at Serbs from a vehicle. The two cousins sustained injuries to their shoulders and hands. Initially, the authorities were able to defuse the situation.
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Orthodox Christmas in northern Kosovo: ethnic Serbs throw oak branches into the fire. The branches are first carried into houses and then burned.
New escalation in Kosovo feared: while orthodox Serbs celebrate Christmas, a Kosovan soldier shot a Serbian boy (11) and a young man (21) outside of his duty hours. The 33-year-old shooter suddenly fired shots at the two victims from the passing car. These were transporting oak branches to be burned on Orthodox Christmas Eve.
21-year-old Milos S.* was hit in the hand and his cousin Stefan S.* in the shoulder. You are out of danger. There seems to be no doubt about the question of guilt. “I strongly condemn the attack on two Kosovar citizens today,” wrote Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti (47) on Twitter. “A suspect has been arrested and will be dealt with promptly and fairly by our judiciary.”
Angry Serbs block the road
After the incident, some angry Serbs blocked the local main road. The report of the suspect’s arrest initially seemed to ease the situation. It was only at the end of December that a crisis between the ethnic groups in northern Kosovo was resolved.
Around 100,000 Serbs live in mostly Albanian Kosovo, half of them in the north. Serbs refuse to recognize the government in Pristina and Kosovo as a state. Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008, is considered an autonomous Serbian province. (kes)
* Names known to editors