The flare-up of violence in Kosovo shows the folly of the west’s appeasement of Serbia

Unless the EU and US are tougher on Belgrade, Serbian nationalist attacks could destabilise the region

The killing last weekend of a Kosovo police officer by a group of 30 or more heavily armed Serbian nationalist militants marks the most significant security incident in that country, and the western Balkans region, in more than a decade. The US ambassador to Pristina, Jeffrey M Hovenier, described the attack subsequently: We know it was coordinated and sophisticated ... The quantity of weapons suggests this was serious, with a plan to destabilise security in the region."

Kosovo's authorities concur and are even more explicit in who they blame. Namely, Serbia's government, and its strongman president, Aleksandar Vui.

Jasmin Mujanovi is a political scientist and the author of Hunger & Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans and The Bosniaks: Nationhood after Genocide

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