ConflictBarometer_2016

EUROPE
RUSSIA – UKRAINE (CRIMEA)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 2014
SERBIA (KOSOVO – OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2015
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Crimean regional government, Russia
vs. Ukraine
territory
The non-violent crisis over the status of the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea between Russia and the Crimean regional
government, on the one hand, and the Ukrainian government,
on the other, continued.
Following the overthrow of Ukrainian then-President Viktor
Yanukovych and his government in February 2014, Russian
soldiers had occupied strategic sites on the peninsula. Two
days after a referendum on 03/17/14, Russia had declared
Crimea Russian territory. Ukraine, the UN and the majority of
the international community condemned the annexation.
Throughout the year, several incidents were reported at or
near the border crossings between mainland-Ukraine and the
Crimean peninsula. According to Russian authorities, the
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a group of
Ukrainian and Russian citizens the night of August 6 to 7 near
the city of Armyansk and confiscated 20 explosive devices
at the site. FSB also reported that on August 8, unspecified
Ukrainian groups tried to cross the border, accompanied by
heavy shelling from the Ukrainian side. According to Russian
authorities, the shootings on both days left two Russian officials
dead and ten injured. Ukraine rejected these allegations
and accused Russia of having staged the alleged incidents.
The information could not be independently verified. In the
following days, both sides increased their military presence
near the border.
On November 20, Ukrainian officials arrested two Russian soldiers
who tried to cross the border to mainland Ukraine at
Chongar checkpoint. Russia accused Ukraine of abduction,
whereas Ukraine declared that the soldiers had previously
served as Ukrainian servicemen before the Russian annexation
of Crimea, and were therefore put under criminal investigations.
Ukraine and Russia launched military exercises on or near the
Crimean peninsula on various occasions. For instance, Russia
held military drills from September 5 to September 10 in its
Southern Military District, which includes Crimea. Ukraine, on
December 1, carried out missile tests 30 km off the Crimean
west coast. As a consequence, Russia put its air force on high
alert and sent warships to the coastline.
On June 17, the EU extended its sanctions against Crimea for
another year. On November 14, the ICC classified the situation
in Crimea as an international armed conflict and an ongoing
occupation by Russia. Two days later, Russia declared
the withdrawal of its signature from the founding statute of
the ICC. bew
Conflict parties:
Vetevendosje et al. vs. Kosovar government
Conflict items: system/ideology, subnational predominance
The violent crisis over the orientation of the political system
and subnational predominance between opposition parties
and the government in the Republic of Kosovo, over
which Serbia continued to claim authority, persisted [→ Serbia
(Kosovo)]. Since the Kosovar government signed an accord
with Serbia regarding Serb minority rights as well as a
border agreement with Montenegro in August 2015, opposition
parties led by Albanian nationalist party Vetevendosje
repeatedly engaged in violent demonstrations and disrupted
parliamentary sessions in the capital Pristina.
On January 9, several thousand anti-government protesters
clashed with police at a demonstration in Pristina against the
agreement with the Serb minority. Protesters threw petrol
bombs as well as stones, and set fire to the seat of the government,
resulting in 26 injured. The police arrested 40
protesters. On February 17, opposition parties organized a
nonviolent protest in Pristina, demanding the government's
resignation and snap elections. They issued an ultimatum to
the government to resign by February 27. On February 19, opposition
MPs disrupted the first parliamentary session of the
year by releasing tear gas within the chamber. On February
23, members of the opposition coalition set up tents opposite
of the government building in support of their on-going
demand for early elections.
Three days later, amidst the presidential election, around
2,500 protesters threw Molotov cocktails, rocks, and bottles
filled with paint on the parliament and police officers, reportedly
leaving 21 police officers wounded. The police used tear
gas and water cannons to dissolve the protest camps. During
the election, oppositional MPs released tear gas inside the
parliament. On March 10, opposition lawmakers disrupted a
parliamentary session dealing with the agreement with Serbia
and Montenegro, by directing laser light at a minister, throwing
water at Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, and releasing tear
gas. On April 7, Kosovo's former premier Hashim Thaci was
sworn in as president. Opposition parties boycotted the ceremony,
while their supporters wounded a police officer with
tear gas in the capital. Police detained half a dozen opposition
supporters. On May 14, hundreds of protesters rallied
in Pristina, declaring the agreements with Serbia and Montenegro
unconstitutional and demanding the government to
resign.
On August 4, two unidentified motorcyclists fired a RPG at the
government building when the parliament was due to vote
on a border deal with neighboring Montenegro. Additionally,
explosives were found on the roof of a house belonging to
the head of the Ad Hoc Commission for Reviewing the Border
Demarcation Between Kosovo and Montenegro. On August
9, an opposition MP used tear gas to disrupt the work of
the Commission, while activists hurled stones at the govern-
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