PRISTINA – Six police officers were injured during last night’s protests in Pristina, 11 protesters sought medical assistance and three people were taken to a police station, Kosovo Police state.
After hours of escalating clashes involving tear gas, water cannon, pyrotechnics, burning rubbish bins and police physically pushing protesters back, the situation calmed shortly before 11 p.m. , although the protest continued.
The KLA War Veterans’ Organisation called on those gathered to return to the square today.
In its latest statement, police said they had intervened several times during the evening after some protesters threw pyrotechnics, fireworks and hard objects towards the government and parliament buildings, as well as at police officers.
Police said they repeatedly used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd and prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
The day-long protest outside Kosovo’s parliament and government buildings escalated this evening into the most serious clashes since demonstrations against the Specialist Chambers’ verdict began.
The clashes followed the failure of Albin Kurti and PDK leader Bedri Hamza to reach an agreement that would allow amendments to the Law on Specialist Chambers to pass a second reading. PDK claims that Kurti made the vote conditional on an agreement over the presidency, while the deadline for electing a president expires today.
