Demonstrators from Serb-majority towns in northern Kosovo have completed Friday the removal of the barricades they have maintained for more than two weeks in protest against the Pristina government over the detention of Kosovo Serb citizens, but the border crossings with Serbia at Jarinje and Brjnak still remain closed, Serbian state broadcaster RTS has confirmed.
The Kosovo on Line news portal has also confirmed the removal of the barricades except for two trucks set on fire between Wednesday and Thursday in northern Mitrovica, which still remain in the middle of the road.
The complete lifting of the barricades confirms some easing of tension in the area after one of the most dangerous clashes in recent years between Kosovo and Serbia, initiated by the crisis that erupted in September 2021 over vehicle registration competences and which has ended with an institutional vacuum in the Serb-majority towns of northern Kosovo, attacks on EU mission patrols, arrests of former Kosovo Serb policemen and a virtually unprecedented initiative by Belgrade to deploy the Serbian Army in the area.
Finally, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced late Wednesday the beginning of the withdrawal of the barricades after receiving assurances that the Kosovo government would not deploy its «special forces» in Kosovo Serb villages.
«For the first time,» Vucic said Friday, «we have guarantees that what Pristina calls ‘army’ cannot be deployed without the consent of the local Serbs and Serbia.
«The important thing is that there will be no persecutions, no deaths and no injuries, because Kosovo now knows very well that it has nothing to do there, nor can it survive without the north,» the leader added.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
