PRISTINA (Reuters) – Kosovo police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse a crowd that grew hostile after raids on suspected goods smugglers in a volatile northern area populated by the Serb minority.
Police said raids searching for smuggled goods were being carried out in several locations across the country, and that they had faced opposition from local Serbs in the northern part of the divided town of Mitrovica.
Media in neighbouring Serbia reported that there were no casualties, but said the situation was tense.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but around 50,000 Serbs who remain in the northern part of the country refuse to recognise the Pristina authorities and see Belgrade as their capital.
Video aired by media in Kosovo showed special police units firing tear gas to disperse the crowds. News channels reported that stun grenades had also been fired, although no pictures of them were shown.
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Ivana Sekularac and Peter Graff)
