PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - The Latest on Kosovo-Serbia tensions (all times local):
10:30 p.m.
A doctor in northern Kosovo says 32 people have been injured, including five seriously, during clashes with Kosovo police during the arrest of a senior Serbian government official.
Milan Ivanovic said Monday the injured have been treated in a local hospital in the divided town of Mitrovica and discharged.
Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, has said that Marko Djuric, government’s chief negotiator in EU-mediated talks on Kosovo, was beaten when arrested and will be examined in a Serbian hospital.
Kosovo authorities have said that Djuric was expelled from Kosovo after he was released from detention. They say Djuric was arrested earlier Monday for entering the country illegally.
Officials say Kosovo police have fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse protesters in Mitrovica and arrest Djuric.
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10:15 p.m.
Serbia’s president has called Kosovo a “terrorist” and “bandit” state supported by Western powers and accused it of “a brutal provocation” after the arrest of a senior Serbian official.
In a strongly-worded address aired live on Serbian media and in northern Serb-dominated Kosovo, Aleksandar Vucic said Monday that Serbia will prosecute those who arrested Marko Djuric in the divided northern town of Mitrovica.
Vucic says that “we will not let this go unpunished.” But Vucic stopped short of pulling out of European Union-mediated talks on normalizing ties with the former province whose 2008 split Belgrade doesn’t recognize.
He says “we will do everything we can to preserve peace but we will not allow anyone to jeopardize the security of our citizens.” He says Djuric’s arrest is a “brutal provocation, a senseless criminal act.”
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9:10 p.m.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief has called for restraint in Kosovo and Serbia after the brief detention of a Serb official banned from visiting the divided town of Mitrovica.
Federica Mogherini says she spoke with Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci following the incident earlier Monday.
Serb official Marko Djuric was detained and then expelled from Kosovo. During the incident, Kosovo police officers also fired tear gas and stun grenades at Serb protesters.
Mogherini tweeted that she deplored what happened in Kosovo. She said: “#Djuric now free on his way back. Need calm & preserve dialogue.”
The incident was likely to inflame tensions between the two foes, which fought a brutal war in 1999.
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8:35 p.m.
Kosovo’s foreign minister has hailed police for “acting in line with our country’s laws” after detaining and then expelling a Serb official banned from visiting a divided northern town.
Behgjet Pacolli said that after all the procedures were completed Djuric’s deportation out of Kosovo was being carried out.
Pacolli said “he has been warned several times to respect Kosovo laws, like every citizen should respect the host’s laws wherever one may go.”
Senior Serb official Marko Djuric was detained after he illegally entered Kosovo.
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7:40 p.m.
Kosovo’s president and police say they have released from arrest Serbia’s chief negotiator in EU-mediated talks with Kosovo, and expelled him from the country.
Senior Serb official Marko Djuric was arrested earlier after he illegally entered Kosovo. President Hashim Thaci says police has accompanied Djuric to the border crossing point between Kosovo and Serbia.
Thaci called for calm, saying: “This case should not violate the communication between Kosovo and Serbia … the efforts for normalization, for good inter-neighborly ties and reconciliation between Kosovo and Serbia.”
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6:55 p.m.
A Serbian official has accused Kosovo of a “brutal use of force” in the arrest of Serbia’s chief negotiator in European Union-mediated talks with Kosovo.
Milovan Drecun, who heads a Serbian parliamentary committee dealing with Kosovo, urged the immediate release of Marko Djuric. He says Kosovo must withdraw its police units from the Serb-populated north and NATO-led peacekeepers should move in.
Drecun asks “where is KFOR?” He was using an acronym for the peacekeeping troops that deployed in 1999 after a NATO air war forced Serbia to pull out of its former province.
Drecun adds “the question is whether it makes any sense to talk and negotiate any longer.”
Serbian state television has reported that Kosovo police also have fired tear gas and stun grenades at Serb protesters in northern Kosovo.
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6:20 p.m.
Serbian state television says the country’s top security body will hold an emergency meeting following the arrest of a Serbian government official in northern Kosovo.
The RTS report says Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, has called the meeting of the National Security Council for 1730 GMT (1 p.m. EDT) in Belgrade, the capital.
The meeting of the council that comprises top state and security officials was earlier planned for Tuesday morning.
Serbian TV has reported that Kosovo police arrested Serbia’s chief negotiator in EU-mediated talks with Kosovo, Marko Djuric, on Monday and fired tear gas and stun grenades at Serb protesters in northern Kosovo.
Kosovo police said they sent reinforcements to stop four senior Serb officials from visiting Kosovo’s north. But two of them arrived in the Serb-part of the divided town of Mitrovica later Monday.
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5:45 p.m.
Serbian state television says Kosovo police have arrested one Serb official and fired tear gas and stun grenades at Serb protesters in northern Kosovo.
Kosovo police said Monday they have sent reinforcements to stop four senior Serb officials from visiting Kosovo’s north. But two of them arrived in the Serb-part of the divided town of Mitrovica later Monday.
Serbia’s state Tanjug news agency said that Serbia’s defense minister, the chief Serb negotiator in the EU-mediated talks between Kosovo and Serbia, a senior aide of President Aleksandar Vucic and the country’s culture minister were banned from entering Kosovo.
State TV reported that Marko Djuric, the Serb negotiator, was arrested which triggered protests and the firing of tear gas and stun grenades.
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1 p.m.
Kosovo police say they have sent reinforcements to stop four senior Serb officials from visiting Kosovo’s north.
Serbia’s state Tanjug news agency said that Serbia’s defense minister, the chief Serb negotiator in the EU-mediated talks between Kosovo and Serbia, a senior aide of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and the country’s culture minister were banned from entering Kosovo on Monday.
Serb officials earlier said they would hold the visit despite the decision by Kosovo authorities to prohibit their entry.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade does not recognize the split and is seeking to maintain influence in Kosovo’s north, where most of the country’s Serb minority is located.
Serb officials must seek official clearance from Kosovo’s authorities before any visit.
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