Alarms sounded in northern Kosovo, people build barricades

Alarms sounded in northern Kosovo, people build barricades

In the northern regions of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, where Serbs predominantly live, air raid sirens were turned on, the Vecherne Novosti portal reports.

It is noted that residents began to build barricades in the place of Rudare, on the Pristina-Leposavich highway and not far from the city of Zvecan.

“After 18:00, air raid signals were activated in Kosovska Mitrovica <…> In front of the new base of the border police of the self-proclaimed Kosovo, not far from the administrative center of Yarine, a lot of fighters of the rapid reaction unit with automatic weapons, helmets and bulletproof vests were distributed <…>,” the publication reports. 

In addition, according to media reports, about 200 Albanians have gathered in the southern part of the city near the bridge leading to the north side: there, the Serbs plan to go en masse to the place where the barricades are being built.

Earlier on Sunday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, in an address to citizens, said that the Kosovo police would begin an operation in the north of the province at midnight on August 1 and block the entry of citizens with personal documents issued by Belgrade. The head of state urged the Kosovo Albanian authorities to maintain peace and warned that “Serbia will win” in case of aggressive actions against the Serbs.

As the government of Kosovo announced, from August 1, Serbian documents will cease to be valid in the territory under its control, and their owners will be issued a temporary certificate at the entrance. At the same time, the mandatory re-registration of cars with Serbian numbers to RKS numbers (Republic of Kosovo) will begin.

Belgrade does not recognize RKS numbers on its territory. Last year, this led to a conflict: Pristina banned the entry of cars with Serbian numbers and deployed a special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ROSU to the north of the region. Local Serbs responded by blocking the road with construction equipment towards the Yarina and Brnak checkpoints and kept the blockade, although the police tried to disperse them with tear gas and special equipment. After that, through the mediation of Western countries, Belgrade and Pristina reached an agreement according to which, when leaving Kosovo and Metohija for Central Serbia, Kosovo symbols on the plates are sealed with stickers with the Serbian coat of arms and the letters KM.

The prime minister of the self-proclaimed republic, Albin Kurti, called on Serbs living in the region to re-register their cars “for the sake of the rule of law” and promised that they would not be subjected to additional customs procedures. According to Kurti, this is a big concession, since the average customs fee for a car is about five thousand euros. In addition, when re-registering, they will not be required to pass a technical inspection, and municipalities can refuse a fee of ten euros.

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovich, in turn, said that the Kosovo authorities are preparing “real hell” for the Serbs.

The Kosovo Albanian structures in Pristina unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. This was preceded by an armed confrontation between Albanian separatists from the Kosovo Liberation Army and the army and police of Serbia, which in 1999 led to the bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO forces. The self-proclaimed republic is not recognized by Serbia, Russia, China, Iran, Spain, Greece and a number of other states.

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