U.S. intensifies diplomatic pressure as Serbs rally in north Kosovo

Ethnic Serbs gathered again in a flashpoint town in north Kosovo on June 1 at the site of clashes earlier this week with NATO-led forces

Ethnic Serbs gathered again in a flashpoint town in north Kosovo on June 1 at the site of clashes earlier this week with NATO-led forces, as Washington urged both Belgrade and Pristina to diffuse tensions.

In the northern town of Zvecan, some 70 protesters — significantly fewer than crowds seen on previous days — rallied outside the town hall, sealed off with barbed wire and encircled by NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR) in full riot gear.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged both Pristina and Belgrade to ease tensions, warning they were putting aspirations of European integration at risk.

"We call on the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions," Mr. Blinken told reporters on June 1 at NATO talks in Oslo.

Kosovo police said two ethnic Albanian men were injured in an attack near a square on the Serb-populated part of the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica.

"The victims were attacked by a group of criminals who were masked and organised for the attack," adding that they sustained "injuries and were sent for medical treatment".

In Zvecan, a KFOR armoured vehicle was parked near the road leading to the town hall, a move requested on Wednesday by a local Serb party after masked protesters smashed windows on two Kosovo police cars in the town centre, injuring an officer.