A group of non-governmental organizations from northern Kosovo in the strongest terms condemned yesterday excessive use of force by the Kosovo special police unit against citizens, participants in a roundtable and journalists reporting on the event, Serbian media reported.

“Video footages that could be seen in Kosovo and the region, clearly pointed to ethnically raged and unprofessional actions of the special police unit members, violence against participants in a roundtable, among whom there were officials of the Kosovo Government as well,” press statement of NGOs, Activ, Advocacy Centre for Democratic Culture, Human Centre Mitrovica and Women’s Right said.

They also requested from the government in Pristina and the Ministry of Interior to order an urgent investigation and apply all legal measures against persons responsible for inflicting body injuries and humiliating treatment of the participants in a roundtable in Mitrovica North.

They requested from EU Office and EUELX to take an active part in efforts to clarify circumstances that lead to the engagement of special police forces, and from Kosovo based journalists’ associations and civil society organization to condemn violence against the journalists, Serbian media reported.