There was once a bloody war in Kosovo. The conflict was pacified but never fully resolved. Now there are growing concerns that tensions in northern Kosovo on the border with Serbia are escalating. As the Kosovan newspaper Koha Ditore reports, the border crossings between Serbia and Kosovo are currently being blocked by Serbian activists with trucks.
According to the news site, the Kosovo police, the police units of the Republic of Kosovo, then closed the Brënjak and Jarinje crossings. Unknown persons also fired shots in the direction of Kosovan police officers, but no one was injured, the police in Pristina said late on Sunday evening. Kosovan citizens were called upon to temporarily switch to other border crossings. The reports on this cannot yet be independently verified.
According to Kosovan media, air raid sirens could be heard in the northern part of the city of Mitrovica from the afternoon. Mitrovica is located in Kosovo. However, the north of the city is mostly inhabited by ethnic Serbs, while the southern part of the city is mostly inhabited by Kosovar Albanians.
Dispute over new regulations for Serbs in Kosovo could escalate
The current dispute revolves around new regulations that the Kosovan government in Pristina wants to impose on the Serbs in Kosovo. As of August 1, the Serbs are to exchange their identification documents issued by Belgrade for those of Kosovo. So far they use documents issued by Serbian authorities. Pristina no longer wants to recognize them, also because Serbia demands the same from Kosovars. In addition, the Kosovo Serbs are to use Kosovo license plates in the future and use them to drive into Kosovo. Belgrade also requires Serbian license plates from Kosovar citizens. So far, Serbs continue to use Serbian license plates, which are issued by local authorities in northern Kosovo.
The ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo do not recognize the government of the young republic. For the Serbian minority in Kosovo, the region is still part of Serbia. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. Belgrade does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, as do Russia, China and other Belgrade allies. However, Germany, the US and most western nations see Kosovo as independent.
The two parts of the city are separated by a river. The central bridge in Mitrovica is a symbol of the fragile peace in Kosovo. The media also state that the international peacekeeping mission KFOR is monitoring the situation. A total of around 4,000 soldiers from 28 countries are serving in Kosovo, including around 70 Bundeswehr soldiers in Kosovo as part of KFOR.
Serbian President and Prime Minister of Kosovo call for calm
Both Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti called on the citizens of both countries to remain calm. Kurti said in his speech that the hours and days ahead of the Kosovars meant a “challenge”. He opposed “Serbian chauvinism”. Serbian President Vučić said that Serbia “has never been in a more complex and difficult situation than today”. He called for peace, but also said that Serbia is ready should a conflict arise.
The Serbian Ministry of Defense had previously contradicted reports that troops had entered Kosovo. “Serbia has not crossed the administrative line and has not invaded the territory of Kosovo and Metohija in any way,” one said Notification on the Ministry’s website. Belgrade accuses politicians and media in Kosovo of fueling tensions.
Serbian ruling party MP wants to “denazify” the Balkans
The Serbian member of parliament Vladimir Đukanović had already tweeted in the afternoon. “Everything indicates that Serbia will be forced to start the denazification of the Balkans. I hope I’m wrong.” The tweet, linked to tensions on the Kosovo border, raises fears that Serbia could use Europe’s attention to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine to push for recapture of Kosovo in its shadow.
In view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, fears are growing in Europe that the war in Kosovo could break out openly again. In 1999, NATO bombed Serbia to force the regime of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević to stop fighting in Kosovo. A UN-led peacekeeping force then moved into Kosovo, in which the German armed forces also participated. The so-called KFOR tried to keep the peace between the Kosovar Albanians and the Serbs in Kosovo. However, violent clashes erupted again and again. The current Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was Minister of Information in the Milošević government in 1999.