Serbia demands that NATO take over policing of northern Kosovo after a deadly shootout

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s president has demanded that a NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo take over for the national law enforcement agency in northern Kosovo. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with ambassadors from five Western countries and the European Union two days after violent clashes between armed Serbs and Kosovo police left one officer and three gunmen dead. The violence on Sunday was one of the worst confrontations in Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Vucic says he wants the NATO-led Kosovo Force, or KFOR, to take over “all the security matters in the north of Kosovo.” There has been no immediate reaction from NATO to Vucic’s request, but it’s highly unlikely to be granted.