In clashes after elections

More than 30 Nato peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo have been injured in clashes with Serb protesters, while Serbia’s president put the army on the highest level of combat alert.

The tense situation developed after ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo’s Serbmajority area after elections that the Serbs boycotted – a move that led the US and its allies to rebuke Pristina last Friday.

Kfor, the Nato-led peacekeeping mission to Kosovo, condemned the violence. Its commander, Division General Angelo Michele Ristuccia, criticised the attacks as “unacceptable”.