In the night of 17–18 May, Kosovo Serb inhabitants who had recently returned to the villages of Bicë/Biča and Grapc/Grabac in the municipality of Klinë/Klina, were reported to have been victims of a series of robberies and verbal abuses by unknown assailants. These are the most recent additions to a number of similar incidents involving Serb returnees in the municipality of Klinë/Klina. The Kosovo Police is investigating the incidents, and on Tuesday, it announced that it has arrested seven individuals suspected to be behind the latest robberies and attacks. Events of this nature, even if not always primarily ethnically-motivated, are intolerable and they create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity for Kosovo Serbs inhabitants and especially returnees in Klinë/Klina and elsewhere in Kosovo.

This Political Update looks into the reactions by politicians and relevant institutions surrounding the question of ethnic motives behind the incident, provides an overview of the return process and the newly-adopted Strategy for Communities and Return 2014-2018, and recommends that municipal and central-level authorities take a more pro-active approach when engaging minority community members.