The European Union has withdrawn staff from the northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica following violent protests by the Serb minority, an EU envoy announced.
“We have temporarily brought back our personnel, but we will maintain our office in the north,” EU envoy Peter Feith told reporters in the southern Kosovo town of Prizren.
The EU staff in Mitrovica have been preparing a 2,000 strong EU police-judicial mission in Kosovo after its declaration of independence, which has been rejected by the Serbian government and Kosovo Serbs.
Kosovo’s status as a country has been recognised by the United States and the major powers of the European Union.
The EULEX rule of law mission is taking over from the United Nations, who have run Kosovo since 1999.
The north of Kosovo is home to just under half of the region’s 120,000 minority Serbs. They have issued a warning to the EU mission of police and magistrates that they will be treated like an occupying force.
The EULEX rule of law mission is taking over from the United Nations, who have run Kosovo since 1999. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
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