Serbian border troops on high alert after ethnic clashes inside Kosovo

By ZENEL ZHINIPOTOKU and LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Serbian border troops are on high alert following clashes inside Kosovo between police and ethnic Serbs. Local media in Kosovo reported ethnic Serbs in the country’s north tried to block recently-elected ethnic Albanian officials from entering municipal buildings on Friday. Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he put his country’s troops on alert in response. The United States condemned Kosovo’s government for using police to forcibly enter the municipal buildings. Vucic has previously warned that Belgrade would respond to violence against Serbs. However, any attempt by Serbia to send its troops over the border would mean a clash with NATO troops.