Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Pakpour: Popular volunteer forces will be mobilized
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Pakpour: As time passes, the people's solidarity increases, which is a divine blessing
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Pakpour: The Iranian Revolution Guard Corps' aerospace operations will not stop
Russian Foreign Ministry: IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi must ensure that an objective report is presented at the special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Russian Foreign Ministry: The UN Security Council must respond to the US attacks on Iran
Russian Foreign Ministry: We strongly condemn the US strikes on Iran, calling the decision irresponsible
Iranian Red Crescent: Three personnel martyred, 29 injured in Israeli aggression
IRGC: We have identified and monitored the departure points of the US aircraft that carried out the aggression
IRGC: America has neither the initiative nor the ability to escape the consequences of a powerful response
IRGC: We strongly affirm that Iran's peaceful nuclear technology cannot be destroyed by any attack

Vucic: Serbs in northern Kosovo will start removing barricades

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 29 Dec 2022 08:40
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

Serbia's President says Serbs in northern Kosovo will start removing barricades after receiving guarantees that none of them will be prosecuted or arrested.

  • x
  • Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (Reuters)
    Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (Reuters)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that Serbs in northern Kosovo will start removing barricades on Thursday morning.

"It is a long process. It will take a while," Vucic said after meeting Serbs from northern Kosovo in the Serbian town of Raska, as quoted by Reuters.

On December 10, Serbs in the north of Kosovo began setting up barricades in protest against the arrest of several Serb police officers by the Kosovar authorities over accusations of war crimes and terrorism dating back to the 1998-1999 conflict.

On December 11, Vucic held a national security council meeting and accused Kosovo of violating existing agreements after Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti urged the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force to dismantle road barricades erected by Serbs in Kosovo.

Kosovo warned that if the NATO-led mission refused to step in, its security forces would carry out the operation themselves.

Earlier this week, Serbs in the north of Kosovo mounted new barricades on key roads to and from Serbia. Several days prior, Kosovar police said the Jarinje and Brnjak border checkpoints were closed by barricades.

On Wednesday, former police officer Dejan Pantic, whose arrest spurred another wave of protests by Kosovo's Serb minority, was released from custody and put under house arrest.

Bilateral tensions have been running high since last month when ethnic Serbs in the north of Kosovo quit their jobs in state institutions, including the police and judiciary, over the Kosovo government's decision to replace Serbian-issued car license plates.

Serbs in northern Kosovo resigned from public institutions in protest over the row on vehicle number plates.

Related News

Serbia's Vucic dismisses calls for snap elections 'stupid nonsense'

Serbia’s Vucic discharged from hospital, to mark Victory Day in Russia

This comes after a Serbian official said on Wednesday that Vucic has called on Serbs in Kosovo to end protests against the Pristina government, reassuring them that they would be immune from prosecution.

"We have received guarantees from the United States and European Union that none of the Serbs in Kosovo who participated in protests and who took part in barricades will be prosecuted or arrested," confirmed Petar Petkovic, head of Serbia's government office for Kosovo, in a press briefing.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia and Serbs in north Kosovo have refused to recognize that.

Tension between #Kosovo and #Serbia after the former's new law. pic.twitter.com/2JYvWaoXMN

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 1, 2022

"We also received guarantees that Kosovo Security Forces will not come to Serb majority north of Kosovo without consent of KFOR commander and representatives of local population," Petkovic indicated.

On Tuesday, "Serbia’s president … ordered the Serbian army to be on the highest level of combat readiness, that is to the level of the use of armed force," Serbia’s Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said in a statement.

Vucevic added that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also ordered the special armed forces to be increased from 1,500 to 5,000.

Serbia's Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic said he "ordered the full combat readiness" of police and other security units, adding that they will be placed under the army chief of staff's command according to "their operational plan."

Gasic said in a statement that he acted on Vucic's orders so that "all measures be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo."

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic had warned that the situation in Kosovo is on the brink of armed conflict.

It is worth noting that Security Council Resolution No. 1244 confirms that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and that arbitrary treatment of the principle of territorial integrity, with regard to a sovereign state, can only be considered a blatant interference in its internal affairs.

  • Serbia
  • Aleksandar Vucic
  • belgrade
  • Kosovo
  • Pristina

Most Read

Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

  • MENA
  • 17 Jun 2025
Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025 (AP)

Wave 12 of Operation True Promise 3 launched, Sejjil deployed: IRGC

  • Politics
  • 18 Jun 2025
Iran launches missile barrage to Tel Aviv, casualties reported

True Promise 3, wave 14: Tel Aviv targeted, casualties reported

  • Politics
  • 19 Jun 2025
Iran's heavy barrages impact multiple Israeli targets overnight

Iran's heavy barrages impact multiple Israeli targets overnight

  • Palestine
  • 18 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Iran’s Bavar-373 air defense system on display during a military drill (Mehr News Agency)
Politics

Iran intercepts Israeli drones near Tehran, multiple cities

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, June 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran warns aid to 'Israel' will be treated as aggression

US President Donald Trump arrives to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Friday, June 20, 2025, en route to Montclair, New Jersey (AP)
Politics

Trump, Erdogan made covert attempts to hold talks with Iran: Axios

Ansar Allah supporters surround a giant Iranian flag during an anti-US and anti-'Israel' weekly rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 20, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US ships in Red Sea will be targeted if US attacks Iran: YAF

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS