Authorities in Kosovo say a police unit came under fire in the north of the country near the border with Serbia, where tensions have been high between the two neighboring Western Balkan nations.
Kosovar police said on August 6 that a border surveillance unit attempting to launch a patrol boat was attacked in Lake Uyman near the town of Zubin Potok.
"There were approximately 10 gunshots. The shots were consecutive, from the rest of the lake, and struck near the police boat," authorities said, adding that there were no injuries.
Municipalities in northern Kosovo – including Zubin Potok, northern Mitrovica, Zvecan, and Leposaviq --have an ethnic-Serbian majority in the mainly ethnic-Albanian country.
Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have risen recently after Kosovo said it would require Serbs living in the north of the country and using Serbian car license plates to apply for plates issued by Kosovar authorities.
Ethnic-Serbian protesters blocked border crossings in the region in protest at the requirements.
Kosovar authorities agreed to delay the implementation of the requirements for 30 days after the border barricades were removed.
About 50,000 ethnic-Serbs live in the north of Kosovo, but they do not recognize the country’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, and they maintain close ties to Belgrade.
Western-backed Kosovo is recognized by more than 100 countries, although not by Serbia, Russia, China, and others.