Kosovo army angers Serbs

Kosovo’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved the formation of an army, angering Serbia which talked up the possibility of an armed intervention.

Nato’s chief called Kosovo’s move “ill-timed” and urged dialogue to maintain peace in the war-scarred region.

The 120-seat parliament voted with all present 107 legislators in favour of passing three draft laws to expand the existing 4,000 Kosovo Security Force and turn it into a regular lightly armed army.

Ethnic-serb community members boycotted the vote. Serbia insists the new army violates a UN resolution that ended Kosovo’s 1998-99 war of independence.