OSCE SLAMS KOSOVO VIOLENCE (AFP, 30 November 2011)
VILNIUS, November 29, 2011 (AFP) - OSCE chair Lithuania on Tuesday condemned clashes in Kosovo that have left 30 peacekeepers in hospital.
"Any attacks on international peacekeepers are unacceptable and nothing justifies violence," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis said in a statement.
Azubalis, whose country is currently at the helm of the 56-nation Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, called for a return to "peaceful dialogue".
He also urged "full cooperation" with the NATO-run KFOR peacekeepers and European Union monitors who are trying to resolve bitter disputes between Kosovo's Albanian majority and ethnic Serbs.
KFOR has blamed Monday's clashes on a "criminal hardcore minority" among ethnic Serbs.
The trouble erupted as KFOR soldiers seized a Serb-set roadblock near Zupce in northern Kosovo, where the vast majority of the population are Serbs who reject Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.
Tensions remained high Tuesday in Jagnjenica, the site of the violence, amid a stand-off between Serb protesters and KFOR troops.
Last week 21 KFOR soldiers were wounded in similar clashes with Kosovo Serbs when they tried to dismantle another roadblock close to the Jarinje crossing.
"Outstanding issues should be resolved in a calm and responsible manner through the EU-led dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and not through violence," Azubalis said.
