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Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo tried today to seize local government buildings where Albanian mayors entered last week with the help of police.

Kosovo police and NATO-led KFOR Force were seen protecting the municipality building in Zvecan, one of four municipalities that held snap elections last month that were boycotted by ethnic Serbs. Only ethnic Albanians or representatives of other smaller minorities were elected to mayoral posts and as municipal councillors.

More than ten Serbs and five Kosovo police officers were injured in clashes last Friday, while Serb troops on the border with Kosovo were put on high alert.

Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, who are the majority in that part of the country, have tried to block recently elected ethnic Albanians from entering municipal buildings. Kosovo police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and let new officers into the offices.

The United States and the European Union have condemned Kosovo's government for using police force to provide access to municipal buildings. France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, as well as the United States and the European Union in Kosovo reiterated a statement last night saying they warned all parties not to make threats or take actions that could affect a safe and secure environment, including freedom of movement, and that could inflame tensions or promote conflict.

NATO urges Kosovo to de-escalate tensions with Serbia

At a rally Friday evening in Belgrade, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said "Serbia will not stand idly by the moment Serbs in northern Kosovo are attacked." But any attempt by Serbia to send troops across the border would mean a clash with NATO troops stationed there.

A 2013 agreement between Pristina and Belgrade to form a Union of Serb Municipalities was later declared unconstitutional by Kosovo's Constitutional Court, which said the plan did not include other ethnicities and could lead to the use of executive powers to enforce laws.

A Serbian list and citizens gathered in front of the Zvecan municipality building insist that the newly elected Albanian mayor should not enter the municipality building, and that Kosovo police special forces should immediately withdraw. These requests were made by representatives of the Serbian List in a conversation with representatives of the Kosovo police and KFOR in Zvecan.

In front of the building of the municipality of Zvecan, as well as in Zubin Potok and Leposavić, there are powerful forces of the Kosovo police and the special police, as well as representatives of KFOR in full combat equipment, Serbian media note.