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Kosovo shuts main border crossing with Serbia as tensions escalate

Wednesday, 28 December 2022 3:12 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 28 December 2022 3:23 PM ]

A truck blocks a road in Mitrovica, Kosovo, December 27, 2022. (Photo by Reuters)

Kosovo closed its biggest border crossing with Serbia on Wednesday after Serbs reportedly set up more barricades on their side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo in one of the region's worst crises in years.

The move taken on Wednesday has left only three entry points between the two neighbors open, with two other crossings on the Serbian border closed by similar protests on their Kosovar sides since December 10.

Tensions between the two countries have been on the rise since last month, when representatives of ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo walked out of government institutions, including the police and judiciary, over a decision by the government in Pristina to replace Serbian-issued automobile number plates.

Serbia, under Russia’s influence, is seeking to destabilize Kosovo, Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said on Tuesday. Belgrade rejects any attempt to destabilize Kosovo and says it only seeks to protect minorities there.

The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Serbia is an independent country, dismissing the accusation that Russia is after destabilization in the region.

Serbia puts troops on ‘highest alert’ amid rising tensions with Kosovo

Serbian armed forces are put put on the "highest level of combat readiness" on the border with Kosovo amid increasingly strained relations between the two neighboring countries over recent shootings and blockades.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. The government in Belgrade has also threatened to use force against Kosovo.

On December 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo set up barricades in a public display of anger with the arrest of a former policeman suspected of involvement in attacks on ethnic Albanian police officers. Hours after the barricades were erected, the Kosovo police said they suffered three successive firearm attacks on one of the roads leading to the border area.

Virtually 100,000 ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo have been demanding the release of several members of their community held by the predominantly ethnic Albanian government.

Belgrade has repeatedly warned it would protect local Serbs “with all means” if they are attacked.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, and has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 101 member states of the United Nations. Belgrade remains reluctant to recognize it.

The United States and most EU countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence. Serbia has relied on Russia and China in a bid to maintain its claim on Kosovo.

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