Several hundred Kosovo Serb police officers have not shown up for work on Wednesday in Gjilan region, east of Kosovo, regional Kosovo police spokesman Ismat Hashani said.
He said the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) was not informed of the reasons for the absenteeism nor the demands of the Serb police officers.
The Gjilan region has the largest number of Serb police officers in Kosovo.
Kosovo police authorities have denied that this is a boycott of Serb police officers.
KPS spokesman Veton Elshani said investigations are under way to establish the cause of the incident. "Perhaps, they want to work under the direct control of UNMIK police," said Elshani.
Serb police officers in the Serb-dominated north refused to obey the orders from their ethnic Albanian superiors ever since Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17. But they remained in the KPS network, admitting the authority of UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) police.
Serb police officers in other parts of Kosovo had worked normally as before until Wednesday's absenteeism in the east.
The KPS is the most multi-ethnic institution in Kosovo. Hundreds of Serbs and other non-Albanian officers serve in the KPS uniform.
Source: Xinhua
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