Military action begins?
Serbia sends army chief to Kosovo border
The Serbian army has received orders from Belgrade for an operation on the border with Kosovo. It appears that the firing took place in the area on Sunday. This happened after Kosovar forces tried to clear the barricades set up by the Serbs.
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Another ethnic Serb struggle in Kosovo.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, 52, sent his army chief to the Kosovo border on Sunday evening. The tasks the Serbian army received were “precise, clear” and “fully executed.”
General Mojcilovic told the Pink TV channel after a conversation with Vucic in Belgrade. The situation on the border is “difficult and complex” and requires “the presence of the Serbian army in the coming period”.
Kosovo, with a large Albanian population, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 but is still considered a breakaway territory by Belgrade. A few years ago a bloody war took place between the two countries. Despite the EU’s attempts to negotiate, they have repeatedly clashed over the years. Belgrade encourages the Serb minority in northern Kosovo to try to challenge Pristina’s authority.
Gun salvos
Tensions flared again on the border with Serbia in December. Nighttime shootings of police officers and stun grenade attacks on the EU mission EULEX have raised international concerns.
Shortly before the military commander left for the border area, several Serbian media outlets circulated a video shared on online networks in which gunshots could be heard. For them, these were “fights” that took place early in the morning. Kosovan armed forces are said to have attempted to remove barricades previously set up by Serbs.
“Arson” in Zubin Podok, a village near Mitrovica, commented on Serbian users. “Albanian special forces attack Serbs, followed by a reaction.”
The authenticity of the video cannot be independently verified. Kosovar police immediately denied reports of a shooting. He said on his Facebook page that none of his employees were involved in the gunfight. Instead, according to Kosovar media, a patrol of the Kosovo Peacekeeping Force (KFOR) was in the firing zone. The NATO-led mission increased its presence in the region only a few days ago. He initially did not comment on the incident.
Escalation warning
Given the rising tensions in northern Kosovo, Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic (47) recently warned that the situation could escalate. “We are literally on the brink of armed conflict,” he said in Belgrade last week. He blamed the government in Pristina for the tensions. (CAS/SDA)
Videos are circulating on the Internet: Demonstrators here are trying to storm the Kosovan border(01:40)
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