Türkiye urges restraint amid rising tensions in Kosovo

The Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the escalation of tensions in northern Kosovo, saying that Türkiye urges all sides to return to dialogue.

In a statement, the ministry called on all sides to exercise restraint and return to dialogue for peace and stability.

Around 25 NATO peacekeepers have been injured in clashes with Serbs protesting against Albanian mayors taking office in Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo, the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo KFOR said in a statement.

“While countering the most active fringes of the crowd, several soldiers of the Italian and Hungarian KFOR contingent were the subject of unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices,” KFOR said.

“The unprovoked attacks on NATO units are unacceptable and KFOR will continue to fulfill its mandate impartially,” KFOR Commander Angelo Michele Ristuccia was quoted as saying.