Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic on Friday condemned the recent attacks on Serbian civilians in Kosovo and demanded greater safety of Serbs living there, according to an official press release.
Nikolic was responding to a number of separate incidents in Kosovo the previous day, St Vitus Day, which marks the Serbian national day of mourning when Serb forces were defeated by the Ottoman Turks in 1389, Xinhua reported.
On Thursday, more than 50 people were injured in a pitched battle between Serbs and the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) at a border crossing, while another 16 civilians were injured when buses returning from the commemoration ceremonies at "Gazimestan" outside of Pristina were stoned and hit with Molotov cocktails.
"Such actions are unacceptable and represent an open provocation at the time when you need calming tensions in the province before the resumption of dialogue," said Nikolic in an official statement.
Nikolic said that the responsibility for the attacks lies solely on the authorities in Pristina and that such violations of human rights does not contribute to restoring stability in the region. He called on international organizations in Kosovo to exercise their authority to assure greater safety for Serbs.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after the 1999 NATO bombing campaign of Serbia led to nearly 10 years of UN administration. Serbia steadfastly refuses to recognize the secession of its southern province, which is regarded as the medieval cradle of Serbian culture.