A Kosovo police officer died on Tuesday evening of injuries he sustained in a failed attempt by the Pristina police to take over control of two border crossings in an area controlled by local Serbs, Reuters quoted the local police as saying.
The 31-year-old Enver Zumberi, a father of three, was wounded in the head when fire was opened at a police convoy in a Serb-controlled area. Zumberi's colleague was wounded in a bomb explosion and is undergoing treatment in the Pristina Hospital. His life is not in danger.
The Kosovo police clashed with local Serbs on Monday evening while trying to put under their control the Serb-controlled border crossings of Jarinje and Brnjak in the north of Kosovska Mitrovica in order to stop the growing smuggling there and extend sovereignty onto the north of the country.
The attack by special police forces, during which armoured vehicles were used, was ordered by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci after his government banned the import of all products from Serbia and Serbia refused to recognise Kosovo customs seals needed for cross-border trade.
The European Union and the United States have criticised the act, saying the government in Pristina should have consulted with its Western allies who have 6,000 peacekeepers deployed in Kosovo.
On Tuesday evening, a Slovenian military convoy was sent to the area to maintain peace.
