Moment furious mass brawl breaks out in Kosovo’s parliament with MPs throwing punches… during debate on easing tensions in the country
- Mergim Lushtaku MP threw water on Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti
- It caused a mass brawl of MPs grabbing, pushing and punching each other
This is the shocking moment a furious brawl erupted in Kosovo’s parliament after an opposition legislator threw water on the country’s Prime Minister.
In the video, Mergim Lushtaku, from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, approaches Prime Minister Albin Kurti and throws water on him as he speaks about measures to defuse tension with ethnic Serbs in the country’s north.
Dozens of MPs then rush towards the lectern and a brawl ensues, with lawmakers scuffling, pushing and punching each other.
It comes as opposition parties have criticised Mr Kurti’s policies in the north of Kosovo which they claim have strained relations with Western allies.
In May, the Kosovar Government put Albanian mayors in municipal buildings in Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic, causing violent protests from the ethnic Serb majority – who have a historically strained relationship with Albanians.
In the video, Mergim Lushtaku, from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, approaches Mr Kurti and throws water on him (pictured)
Dozens of people were injured in clashes between local Serbs and Kosovo police and Nato-led peacekeepers, fuelling fears of a conflict similar to the one in 1998-99 that killed more than 10,000 people.
On Wednesday, Mr Kurti announced he would reduce the number of special police officers stationed outside four municipal buildings in the ethnic Serb-majority areas in northern Kosovo, and hold new mayoral elections in each of the towns.
But the move has angered the opposition, who argued that Mr Kurti ‘experimented’ for months and jeopardised Kosovo’s international position.
Earlier, Mr Kurti’s deputy Besnik Beslimi had torn up a drawing mocking Mr Kurti that the opposition had given the prime minister. Mr Kurti was escorted out of the assembly hall during the chaos, according to local media.
The US and the EU had urged him to keep the mayors in different locations away from the north until the situation is resolved.
Kosovo is a former province in Serbia whose 2008 declaration of independence Belgrade does not recognise.
Dozens of MPs then rush towards the lectern and a brawl ensues, with lawmakers scuffling, pushing and punching each other
It comes as opposition parties have criticised Mr Kurti’s policies in the north of Kosovo which they claim have strained relations with Western allies
The move has angered the opposition, who argued that Mr Kurti ‘experimented’ for months and jeopardised Kosovo’s international position.
Mr Kurti was escorted out of the assembly hall during the chaos, according to local media
Most ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have also refused to acknowledge Kosovo’s statehood, which is backed by the United States and most EU nations but not Russia and China.
Serbia had heightened army combat readiness and threatened a military intervention in response to tensions in the north, which borders Serbia.
Belgrade pulled out of Kosovo in 1999 after Nato bombed the country to stop the onslaught against ethnic Albanian separatists.
The EU has told both countries they must reach a solution to their dispute through an EU-mediated dialogue in order to join the bloc.
Western officials have stepped up efforts to bring the two sides closer together, fearing further instability in Europe as the war continues in Ukraine.
Nato has sent additional troops to its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo to boost security.
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