Clashes in Kosovo over power cuts

There have been calls for calm in eastern Kosovo after a protest by Serbs over power cuts turned violent.

Five people were arrested on Sunday after clashes between police and Serb protesters, who tried to block a road and threw stones.

More than 20 people were injured, most of them police.

The villages have had little or no electricity for months because Serb residents have refused to pay Kosovo's ethnic Albanian-run power company.

The Serbs want neighbouring Serbia to provide their electricity instead.

Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, something which the Serbian government in Belgrade has refused to recognise.

Many people in Kosovo did not pay for electricity while Kosovo was under UN administration from 1999 onwards.

'Tense'

On Sunday evening, some 300 Serbs attempted to block the main road in the village of Donje Korminjane, police said. When police attempted to remove them, the protesters "threw rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails", they added.

The protests later spread to two other predominantly Serb villages, but ended when police reinforcements arrived from nearby towns.

On Monday, a local Serb leader said there would be no more demonstrations, although some are reportedly planned in Ranilug.

Boban Jeftic, who runs the local municipality, told the BBC the area was tense and he was concerned the situation might deteriorate.

A police spokesman said people had a right to demonstrate but that officers would act if another attempt was made to block the road.