Serbia has placed combat-ready troops along its border with Kosovo as tensions rise and long-simmering ethnic divisions resurface.
Serbian Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic said on Monday that he had “ordered full combat readiness” of troops at the border after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic ordered him to do so.
The order was issued to ensure that “all measures are taken to protect the Serb people in Kosovo.”
Kosovo police officers patrol at a roadblock near the northern part of the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, Kosovo, on December 27, 2022.
(REUTERS/Florion Goga)
KOSOVO POLICE OFFICER INJURED BY GUNMAN AFTER INCREASED POLICE PRESENCE IN 4 ETHNICLY SERBIAN-DOMINATED COMMUNES
Hours later, Serbs in the ethnically divided northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica erected barricades for the second time since August.
The moves come after months of heightened tension and claims that Kosovo’s capital Pristina is preparing to attack ethnic Serbs in the northern regions.
The Kosovo government accused Serbia on Tuesday of trying to destabilize the government.
“It is precisely Serbia, influenced by Russia, that has raised a state of military readiness and is ordering the construction of new barricades, in order to justify and protect criminal groups that terrorize… ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo, Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said, according to Reuters.
Serbia has denied these accusations.
Relations remain tense between Serbia and Kosovo, which is majority Albanian. The Serbian government and its supporters in northern Kosovo have refused to recognize Pristina’s independence after it broke away following a year-long war between 1998 and 1999.
NATO security forces helped end the war and have maintained a strong peacekeeping presence in the region ever since.
Local Serbs walk near a roadblock, near the northern part of the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, Kosovo, on December 27, 2022.
(REUTERS/Florion Goga)
NATO SAYS IT IS PREPARED TO INTERVENE IN KOSOVO IF ‘STABILITY IS IN DANGER’
The United States and more than 100 nations, including most NATO states, have recognized Kosovo’s independence since 2008.
Neither Russia nor Serbia recognize Pristina’s sovereignty and have worked to prevent the nation from joining the UN.
In August, NATO intervened once again to try to defuse tensions after northern Kosovo Serbs erected barricades in protest of a regulation requiring all ethnic Serbs to register for government documents and car license plates. issued by Pristina.
The mandate was subsequently postponed to ease hostilities.
“Kosovo cannot engage in dialogue with criminal gangs and freedom of movement must be restored,” the Kosovo government said on Monday, according to Reuters. “There should be no roadblocks on any road.”
Members of the Italian Armed Forces, part of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, stand guard in Rudare, near the northern part of the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, Kosovo, on December 27, 2022.
(REUTERS/Florion Goga)
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Pristina said it would wait for NATO officials to mediate and once again break down the barricades.
“We urge all parties to help enable security and freedom of movement in Kosovo, and prevent misleading narratives from affecting the dialogue process,” said KFOR, the Kosovo peacekeeping force led by the NATO.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
