In ex-Yugoslavia, tensions continue in what appears to be one of the worst crises in recent years in the region. Kosovo closed its main border crossing with Serbia on Wednesday, local police said. This decision comes after the Serbs erected barricades there. At the same time, the United States and the European Union called on Wednesday for an “unconditional de-escalation” of tensions.
“We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint and take immediate action for the unconditional de-escalation of the situation,” a US State Department spokesperson and a Union spokeswoman said. European Union in a joint press release.
Several hundred Kosovo Serbs have erected roadblocks in northern Kosovo since December 10 to protest against the arrest of a former Serbian policeman, paralyzing traffic to two border crossings with Serbia.
Local police and NATO security forces targeted by attacks
Kosovo police and international peacekeepers then suffered several attacks involving firearms, as Serbia put its armed forces on high alert.
On Tuesday evening, dozens of protesters on the Serbian side of the border with trucks and tractors blocked traffic towards Merdare, the main border crossing, leading Kosovo to close the crossing. The Kosovar executive has asked the NATO peacekeeping forces (Kfor) to clear the barricades.
Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said on Wednesday that blocking the roads was a “democratic and peaceful” means of protest, and that Belgrade was keeping its line of communication open with Western diplomats to resolve the crisis.
Serbia does not recognize the independence of its former southern province, populated overwhelmingly by Albanians, proclaimed in 2008. The situation with Kosovo is “on the verge of armed conflict”, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic estimated last week. .