(CNN) -- People hurled stones and eggs at the Kosovan prime minister's convoy this week, a spurt of violence just days before the one-time Serbian province holds its first elections since declaring independence. The flare-up Wednesday targeted Prime Minister Hashim Thaci in the western town of Decan. It unsettled the Balkan country and international officials looking forward to peaceful local elections on Sunday in a land scarred by conflict and now slowly on the mend. There will be races in 36 municipalities for mayors and assembly members, with more than 1.5 million people eligible to vote. December 13 has been set as the day for any second round of mayoral elections that may be needed.
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More than 1.5 million people are eligible to vote in 36 municipalities for mayors and assembly members in Kosovo
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Kosovo has long been a restive province of Serbia with a majority ethnic Albanian population
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Serbs and ethnic-Albanians fought a brutal war in the late 1990s, which ended after NATO bombing of Serbia
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Ethnic-Albanians eventually declared the province independent in February 2008, but Serbia opposed the move
"Intervening in the election process is a serious violation and criminal acts which are politically incited will be prosecuted by relevant legal bodies," said the Kosovo government in a statement posted on @placeholder's Web site.