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Week of May 29 2023

Reporters attacked, gear stolen as riots continue
"suboptimal"

The Western Balkans have been a simmering hotbed of tensions for decades. The region is rife with factions, all acting out grievances, some generations old. The temperatures have risen measurably between Serbia and neighboring Kosovo.

News coverage of recent riots in Kosovo have been generally limited to local outlets, creating targets for Serbian nationalists. The small municipality of Zvecan in northern Kosovo has become a particular flashpoint. Periskopi (Periscope), a local online news portal in Kosovo, has become a target of rioters. Its reporters in Zvecan were assaulted over the weekend, noted Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) in a statement (May 29). Vehicles of news outlets Kallxo, RTV Dukagjin and Top Channel were struck by firebombs the same day. (See more about media in the Western Balkans here)

The riots in northern Kosovo escalated as ethnic Serbs attacked Kosovar police and NATO-KFOR forces protecting ethnic Albanian mayors who had taken up offices in municipal buildings after April elections. Several Italian and Hungarian soldiers of the KFOR contingent were injured in the rock and molotov cocktail throwing. Ethnic Albanians comprise a clear majority of the Kosovo population but ethnic Serbs have standing in the northern areas and have demanded an autonomous zone of influence. (See more about conflict zones here)

The violence against news crews has continued. RTV21 reporters in North Mitrovica were physically attacked (May 30) and equipment was stolen. RTV21 is based in Pristina. Albanian-speaking news teams in Zvecan were forced to shelter in the municipal building. “Working conditions in Zvecan are suboptimal, particularly in relation to the inadequate provision of protective equipment,” said the AJK in a statement (May 30).

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