The UN mission in Kosovo (Unmik) has expressed “great concern” after two of its members were held in a police raid on suspected organised crime gangs.

It said “any harm” to its staff would have serious diplomatic consequences.

The two members were detained on Tuesday in northern Kosovo, an area with mainly ethnic Serbian inhabitants.

They were then taken to hospital “for treatment of injuries”, Unmik said. One of the staff members, a Russian national, was later released.

More than 20 people were arrested during the police raid, targeting suspected smugglers, media reports say.

Police officers reportedly fired live ammunition over the heads of protesting Serbs.

Unmik said it was working to establish the “precise circumstances” of the detention of its personnel.

In response to the police raid, Serbia put the country’s armed forces on high alert.

Russia, a key Serbian ally in the Balkans, condemned the detention of the Russian national.

“We consider this blatant act as yet another manifestation of the provocative line” by the Kosovo authorities, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Kosovo, which has a majority ethnic Albanian population, seceded from Serbia in 2008, and has since been recognised by more than 100 countries.

But Belgrade and Moscow continue to see the region as part of Serbia.

Source: Read Full Article