The Serbs made the move amid warnings from Pristina that a police operation was imminent to clear the roadblocks they erected 18 days ago in northern Kosovo.
Two new barricades were erected by the Serbs in the northern part of the city of Mitrovica. Heavy trucks loaded with sand and rubble have been placed vertically on arterial roads leading from the southern part of the city to the north, where the Serb population is a majority.
The Serbs made the move because of warnings coming from Pristina that a police operation was imminent to clear the roadblocks they erected 18 days ago in northern Kosovo.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in his statement last Sunday, had described the Serb roadblocks as “warlike”. “These are barricades of people in dark uniforms, people who are short-haired, with beards, Wagner barricades.
They have guns and set up barricades not to prevent vehicles from passing but to defend themselves and shoot at approaching vehicles.
🚨🇷🇸🇽🇰 Nelle prime ore del giorno due nuove barricade sono state erette nel nord del #Kosovo dalla popolazione serba, nonostante gli inviti della #KFOR a remover quelle già preemptione innalzate. Adesso siamo a quota 13. Prosegue l’escalation. pic.twitter.com/U3fEVUxLoj
— Dario D’Angelo (@dariodangelo91) December 27, 2022
So these are military roadblocks,” Albin Kurti told the Bosnian news website istraga.ba.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo during the meeting he had yesterday with the commander of the international military force in Kosovo (KFOR) General Angelo Michele asked for the removal of the barricades and stated that if KFOR does not do it, the police will take action. Belgrade reacted immediately to these warnings and the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vucic, put the army and police on high alert.
“After equipping the Albanians and increasing their combat readiness, I will take all measures to protect our people and preserve Serbia,” Aleksandar Vucic said in a post on Instagram late Monday night.
This was followed by a statement by the Minister of Defense Milos Vucevic who said that by order of the President of the Republic he ordered the Serbian army to be “at the highest level of combat readiness, that is, at the level of the use of armed force”.
🇷🇸🇽🇰In the video: the transfer of #Serbian 155-mm wheeled self-propelled guns #Nora B-52 towards the administrative border of #Kosovo #Serbia #artillery pic.twitter.com/6Qi2FX3UYQ
— ConflictX (@ConflictX7) December 27, 2022
Serbian Interior Minister Bratislava Gacic also said that the readiness of the police force had also increased. “By order of the president of the Republic and supreme commander of the armed forces, I ordered the increase in combat readiness of the police and special forces.
The police forces are placed directly under the command of the General Staff of the Armed Forces as provided by the operational plan,” Bratislava Gasic says in his message.
RES-EMP
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
