Srpska lista, Zvecan residents protest against mayor, want Pristina's police to withdraw

ZVECAN - Srpska lista and residents of Zvecan who gathered outside the local municipal building on Monday morning said they wanted a newly-elected ethnic Albanian mayor to stop coming into the building and Pristina's special police troops to withdraw immediately, a Tanjug reporter on the ground said.

The demands were presented by Srpska lista representatives in a discussion with officials of the so-called Kosovo Police and Kfor in Zvecan, a Serb-majority municipality in the north of Kosovo-Metohija.

Negotiations are still underway.

Previously, Kfor troops let a group of residents through to the municipal building, but then Pristina's police fired tear gas at them.

Both the so-called Kosovo Police and Kfor have deployed troops clad in full riot gear outside municipal buildings in Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic.

The so-called Kosovo Police stormed the buildings on Friday afternoon, using tear gas and smoke and stun grenades against Serbs who had tried to stop them.

Several Serbs were injured and the police raid enabled the new mayors of the three municipalities to enter the buildings.

The mayors of Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and North Mitrovica were elected in recent polls boycotted by Serbs.