The Kosovo electric company, KEK, cut off electricity to Serbs in a Kosovo village, despite the fact they had paid their bills.

Reports said that this happened because the majority population in the village of Gornji Livoc, who are ethnic Albanians, did not pay their bills.

Serbs in the village, close to Gnjilane in the east of the province, told Beta news agency that KEK told them they would not be reconnected "until the majority paid their bills".

The local Serbs said this was the first time that electricity supply has been cut also to those who pay their bills.

The village is home to about 20 Serb and 600 to 800 ethnic Albanian families.

Previously, Serbs in the enclaves south of the Ibar River were left without electricity for weeks after KEK would cut off their supply.