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Kosovo PM accuses Serbia of organising clashes

(ANSA-AFP) - PRISTINA, JUN 2 - Kosovo's prime minister on Friday accused Serbia of orchestrating clashes between ethnic Serbs and NATO-led peacekeepers amid intensified Western pressure on both Belgrade and Pristina to ease tensions. More than 80 people, including 30 peacekeepers, were injured in a north Kosovo town on Monday when NATO-led KFOR troops clashed with ethnic Serb protesters who threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails. "The escalation of the situation on May 29 was planned, well-organised and had an author," Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told the lawmakers in parliament. "The author is official Belgrade." Kurti accused Serbia of having "mobilised criminal groups" to provoke the clashes and said many Kosovo Serbs were "forced (by Belgrade) to serve as human shields for such criminal attacks". Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority boycotted April local elections in the volatile north, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a turnout of less than 3.5 percent. (ANSA-AFP).