Washington Excludes Kosovo from Military Exercises after Clashes with Serbs

 The United States announced the exclusion of Kosovo from a military training program in the first punishment, after the Albanians officially handed over their duties as head of municipalities in the cities of the north, following their victory in elections boycotted by the Serbs, who constitute a majority in that region, which led to renewed tension.

The Western powers called for a halt to the escalation after violent clashes took place on Monday in front of a municipal building, in which about fifty demonstrators and about thirty soldiers from the NATO-led force were injured.

The US ambassador to Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, announced the exclusion of Kosovo from Defender 23, a program of joint military exercises between more than twenty countries that began in April and is supposed to continue until the end of June in Europe.

"For Kosovo, this training is over," Hoevener told reporters.

And US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on "all parties to take immediate action to defuse tension," and condemned "unacceptable violence" against peacekeepers.