Pristina - Some 200 Kosovo Serbs blocked on Thursday all access to a Kosovo police station in the northern town of Leposavic, after the announcements that the director of Kosovo police and an official of the European Union would visit. Police director of the European Union's law enforcing mission in Kosovo (Eulex) Reiner Kuehn and Kosovo police director Sherement Ahmeti visited the Kosovo-Serbia border crossing in Leposavic earlier but when they tried to enter the police station in the city they were stopped by the demonstrators.
Kosovo police said in a statement that the two then decided to cancel the visit and return to Pristina. Serbian media reported that the demonstrators said they would not allow the member of the "so- called Kosovo state" to enter their town.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 and was recognized by more than 50 countries, including the United States and most of the EU. Serbia, backed by Russia, bitterly opposes it.
In late 2008, the EU sent its mission of 1,900 police officers, judges, prosecutors and customs officials to help Kosovo along its first sovereign steps. The mission is, however, facing obstruction in the predominantly Serb northern part of Kosovo.
This is the second case in the past week that the Eulex couldn't exert its authority in northern Kosovo. On Monday, some 200 Kosovo Serbs refused to allow Eulex judges and prosecutors to enter the District Court in northern Mitrovica.
The Eulex handed out its first war crimes conviction two days later, on Wednesday, sentencing an Albanian to 17 years in prison for murder.
