Kosovo

Three decades after the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia, the ethnic hostilities that ignited the conflict linger on. Kosovo declared its independence from ...

[arrested on suspicion](/news/terminal/RNARAKDWLU6A) of terrorism, members of the community responded by protesting and blocking roads. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic [raised the prospect](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-12/eu-us-demand-end-to-violence-in-kosovo-return-to-negotiations) of sending troops into Kosovo to protect the Serb minority. And now, Serbia’s army has been [ordered on high alert](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-26/serbian-army-put-on-highest-alert-over-kosovo-tensions) after weeks of rising tensions between authorities in Kosovo and the local Serb minority there.

Scuffles have broken out between Kosovo's security forces and the troubled nation's Serbian minority. Kosovo police say they suffered three successive firearm ...

Serbs have defied international demands to remove barricades in the region. “By the orders of the president of Serbia and commander in chief of the army of Serbia, I have ordered full combat readiness of all units of the ministry of interior of Serbia. Serbia’s Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic confirmed that Serbian security forces are increasingly active in the border area with Kosovo to protect Serbs. Kosovo’s interior minister Xhelal Svecla has accused Serbia of seeking to destabilize his nation by spreading fake news. Scuffles have broken out between Kosovo’s security forces and the troubled nation’s Serbian minority. And not only that, how we will protect our people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija after Albanians were armed and raised their combat readiness,” he explained.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he ordered the army's highest state of alert to “protect our people (in Kosovo) and preserve Serbia.” He claimed ...

Tensions between Kosovo, which declared independence after a war in 2008, and Serbia have reached their peak over the past month. Kosovo has asked NATO-led peacekeepers stationed there to remove the barriers and hinted that Pristina's forces will do it if the KFOR force doesn’t react. Petkovic claimed that heavily armed Kosovo units want to attack Kosovo Serbs, including "women, the elderly, children, men. Kosovo officials have denied that the country has raised its security alert levels. mediators “on preserving peace and finding a compromise solution” for the current crisis. “Their aim is to expel Serbia out of Kosovo ...

Serbs in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo erected new barricades on Tuesday, hours after Serbia said it had put its army on the ...

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday, Serbia would "continue to fight for peace and seek compromise solutions." citizens of Serb ethnicity living in Kosovo," Svecla said in a statement. Around 50,000 Serbs live in the northern part of Kosovo and refuse to recognise the Pristina government or the state. Belgrade had said late on Monday that in light of the latest events in the region and its belief that Kosovo was preparing to attack Serbs and forcefully remove the barricades, it had ordered its army and police to be put on the highest alert. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story "It is precisely Serbia, influenced by Russia, that has raised a state of military readiness and that is ordering the erection of new barricades, in order to justify and protect the criminal groups that terrorize...

Three decades after the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia, the ethnic hostilities that ignited the conflict linger on. Kosovo declared its independence from ...

In turn, the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have used the war in Ukraine to intensify their rhetoric. While the EU remains the key investor in both nations, progress in their efforts to join the bloc has been slow. Kosovo’s Kurti has accused Serbia of serving Russian interests, while Serbia’s Vucuc has said Kosovo officials are trying to exploit alarm over Ukraine for their own purposes. Protests erupted in Kosovo in 1981 following the death of Yugoslavia’s long-ruling Communist dictator Josip Broz Tito. In August, authorities sought to force the minority Serbs to switch to car plates and personal documents issued by the Kosovar rather than the Serbian government. Three decades after the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia, the ethnic hostilities that ignited the conflict linger on.

Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla accused Belgrade of supporting Serbian protesters as a means to destabilise Kosovo.

They see Belgrade as their capital and want to keep their Serbian licence plates. [car licence plates](/news/2022/11/22/eu-raises-alarm-over-escalating-serbia-kosovo-car-plates-dispute). Their protests follow earlier unrest over the issue of

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Kosovo closed its biggest border crossing on Wednesday after protesters blocked it on the Serbian side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo in refusing to ...

They have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and its government. 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged fire with police and erected more than 10 roadblocks in and around Mitrovica. But KFOR has no authority to act on Serbian soil. or go through North Macedonia," Kosovo's Foreign Ministry said on its Facebook page, announcing closure of the Merdare crossing. The obstruction is preventing thousands of Kosovars who work elsewhere in Europe from returning home for holidays. 10, only three entry points between the two countries remain open.

Pristina closure of the Merdare crossing on Kosovo's eastern border comes as tensions with its Balkans neighbour spiral.

“And, of course, we support Belgrade in the actions that are being taken.” They have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and its government. Germany’s government also voiced alarm over the ongoing tensions. On Tuesday, two more roadblocks were erected in the north. But KFOR has no authority to act on Serbian soil. NATO’s mission in Kosovo said on Wednesday that it supported dialogue between all parties to defuse tensions in the north of the country.

Protesting Serbs in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo erected new barricades on Tuesday, hours after Serbia said it had put its ...

[NATO](https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/28/world/nato-patrols-kosovo-serbia-border-intl/index.html) has about 3,700 troops stationed in Kosovo to maintain the peace. Kosovo has for years wanted the approximately 50,000 Serbs in the north to switch their Serbian car license plates to ones issued by Pristina, as part of the government’s desire to assert authority over its territory. The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), which arrived in 2008, still has around 200 special police officers there. Serbs in Kosovo want to create an association of majority-Serb municipalities that would operate with greater autonomy. Serbia, however, still considers Kosovo to be an integral part of its territory and rejects suggestions it is whipping up tensions and conflict within its neighbor’s borders. Ethnic Serbs, who do not recognise the Pristina government or Kosovan state institutions, account for 5% of Kosovo’s 1.8 million people, with ethnic Albanians making up about 90%.

Belgrade puts troops on high alert as ethnic Serbs resist Pristina's authority.

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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic put his nation's military on high alert on Monday to respond if violence erupts between neigboring Kosovo's Serb minority and ...

The text of the following statement was released by the State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel and Spokesperson of the EU High ...

This includes, in particular, fair trial guarantees, as well as protection and equal treatment for members of non-majority communities in Kosovo. The United States of America will support the European Union’s work through its Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX). At the same time, rule of law must be respected, and any form of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The European Union and the United States are concerned about the situation in the north of Kosovo and urge the rival parties to de-escalate tensions, ...

He will be released from custody and put under house arrest, a court spokesperson They have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and its government. 10 for assaulting a serving police officer.

The lawyer for a former Kosovo Serb policeman has been ordered released from prison and placed under house arrest.

“We have given KFOR the time and space needed to act, but of course, this time is quickly running out,” he warned. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. “This is not a simple process, and can’t be done in two hours, as some imagined.” About 4,000 NATO-led peacekeepers have been stationed in Kosovo since a 1998-99 separatist war ended with Serbia losing control over what was then one of its provinces. The Dec. He has been ordered released from prison and placed under house arrest.

The United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint in the north of Kosovo, where authorities closed a third border crossing on Wednesday ...

They have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and its government. Since then, Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged fire with police and erected more than 10 roadblocks, demanding his release. Two border crossings between Serbia and Kosovo were closed on Dec. Around 50,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo refuse to recognise the government in Pristina or the status of Kosovo as a separate country. 10 for assaulting a serving police officer. MITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Kosovo Serbs who have been blocking roads in northern Kosovo for 19 days have agreed to start removing barricades from Thursday morning, bowing to calls by the United States and European Union to defuse tensions.

The former officer from Kosovo's Serb minority, Dejan Pantic, was arrested on December 10 for allegedly assaulting a Kosovan agent. Ethnic Serbs set up ...

“Serbia is a sovereign country and it is fundamentally wrong to look for some kind of destructive influence of Russia here,” he said. “We also expect Kosovo and Serbia to return to fostering an environment conducive to reconciliation, regional stability and co-operation for the benefit of their citizens,” they said. [EU](https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/european-union/) said they were concerned by the “continued tense situation”. [Kosovo](https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/kosovo/) said it would release a police officer whose arrest has fuelled soaring tension with [Serbia](https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/serbia/). In a joint statement on Wednesday, the US and the Kosovo on Wednesday closed a border crossing due to what it called illegal blockades, while Serbia said the “protests” were “democratic and peaceful”.

The arrest of Dejan Pantic, who will now be placed under house arrest, heightened tensions between Pristina and Belgrade.

or go through North Macedonia." /Reuters/Florion Goga /REUTERS/Marko Djurica