US-led KFOR tightens security at checkpoint in north of Kosovo

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Dec 2022 18:34
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According to local reports, hundreds of Serbs gathered near the defunct checkpoint in the Serbian border town of Raska, calling for the reunification of Kosovo with Serbia.

Checkpoint in Northern Kosovo. via Twitter (@DanReznikWSWS)

Local sources reported on Sunday that the Kosovo Force (KFOR) increased its presence and set up barricades at the Jarinje border crossing between Serbia and breakaway Kosovo due to a gathering of local Serbs from the Serbian side.

According to local reports, hundreds of Serbs gathered near the defunct checkpoint in the Serbian border town of Raska at around 13:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

They were seen waving flags of numerous right-wing Serbian groups and were reported to originate from Serbia, Montenegro, and Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The slogan of the gathering was "There will never be a border, Kosovo is Serbia."

Kosovo-online news outlet reported that KFOR boosted its security on Sunday night.

"We noticed over 15 HUMMER [HMMWV] vehicles and several KFOR trucks on rural bypass roads tonight," residents told the news portal.

The report adds that KFOR set up barbed wire fences and used SUVs to block the road from the Jarinje border crossing.

Other HMMWVs could be noticed further away, the report added.

Members of the American KFOR increased their presence and set up a barricade in front of the police station on the road to Lesak Jarinje in Kosovo and Metohija. pic.twitter.com/KOkQ7GYNOF
— Dan Reznik | [email protected] (@DanReznikWSWS) December 18, 2022

On Tuesday, the police in the partially recognized Kosovo said that the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints at the exit to central Serbia remain closed, allegedly because "barricades on the highways hinder the movement of traffic and goods."

Serbs in Kosovo's northern part have been blocking roads using barricades to protest the arrest of former police officer Dejan Pantic, the Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported on Saturday.

In mid-November, the ex-policeman quit his post along with other ethnic Serbs who work as law enforcers in Kosovo. He was arrested earlier on Saturday at the Jarinje border crossing.

Reports say that local residents have assembled at the village of Leposavic's entrance and exit, while several hundred gathered in Rudare and Srbovac, and they are building barricades, as per the newspaper.

On December 10, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia will send the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission command a formal request for authorization to deploy Serbian military and police in Kosovo, despite the likeliness of being rejected.

"In accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244, we will send a request to the KFOR commander to arrange for the deployment of the Serbian army and police contingent in Kosovo and Metohija," Vucic said while addressing the nation and reading out the relevant paragraph of the Security Council resolution.

"Of course, I have no illusions, and I know that they will deny this request. And I'm telling you that in advance," Vucic stressed, noting that it was still necessary to try.

According to agreements, Serbia can only deploy special police forces in Serb-majority areas with the permission of regional heads.