Kosovo moves to lower tensions in Serb majority area

Kosovo special police officer stands by, after the arrest of a Serb identified as an organiser of violent protests last month, in Mitrovica, Kosovo June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci/File Photo

PRISTINA (Reuters) - The Kosovo government said on Tuesday it will scale down the police presence and take other measures to lower tensions in a northern region where hostilities between Albanians and ethnic Serbs have reached their highest level since the country declared independence in 2008.

Violence in north Kosovo, where 50,000 Serbs live and form a majority, erupted in late May after Albanian mayors took office following an election boycotted by Serbs demanding implementation of a decade-old deal for more autonomy.