Zvecan, Kosovo, 29 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) — The NATO-led international peacekeeping force, Kosovo Force (KFOR), has violently dispersed a protest by militant Serbs against the election of Albanian mayors in northern Kosovo.

The soldiers used stun grenades and tear gas in front of the municipal office in the village of Zvečan on Monday.

The crowd in turn pelted them with stones, bottles and other objects, reported local media.

One Serb was injured by gunfire, according to the hospital in the nearby town of Mitrovica. Other Serbs were reported to have suffered minor injuries in the clashes, eyewitnesses said.

On Monday morning, about 300 KFOR soldiers in combat gear had taken up positions in front of the municipal office in Zvečan, a reporter from the area told dpa.

At the same time, a large crowd of Serbian demonstrators had also gathered in front of the office building.

The KFOR troops were on site to secure the office building in place of the Kosovar special police.

When the police force gained access to the municipal office last Friday, it triggered violent protests from militant Serbs.

The police had been trying to escort the new mayor, an Albanian, into the building as he was about to take office.

The Serbs had attempted to prevent new mayors from taking office in the municipalities of Zvečan, Leposavić and Zubin Potok after Serbian residents boycotted their election the previous month. This reduced the voter turnout to just 3.5%.

The new mayors come from Albanian parties and the rest of Kosovo is also almost exclusively Albanian-populated.

The previous Serbian mayors had resigned from their roles in November 2022 to protest the policies of the Kosovar government.

Monday's escalation happened when the Serbian crowd in Zvečan refused to let the Kosovar police vehicles drive away. The KFOR then dispersed the gathering.