The clashes began on Friday and continued on Monday morning as a result of ongoing unrest following the recent elections, where ethnic Albanian politicians won mayorships. Confrontations broke out between ethnic Serbian protesters taking to the street and the police near the municipal offices of three towns. 20 Hungarian soldiers were injured.

In a January article published in the Transcarpathian paper Magyar Szó, Ungvár (Uzhorod) Consul László Kuti spoke about 12 Hungarian soldiers having fallen—the Hungarian Foreign Ministry provides financial aid to the families of all Hungarian victims of the war. However, estimates have put the number closer to 100 recently.