Kosovo

Türkiye also has troops in Kosovo as part of KFOR's multinational peacekeeping force in the Balkans. Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo rose Sunday ahead of ...

''The overall security situation in the northern municipalities of Kosovo is tense. Kosovo, which Albanians predominantly inhabit, broke away from Serbia in 1999 and declared its independence in 2008. NATO's force in Kosovo says it is prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardized

Protesters set up roadblocks and shots were fired after Pristina brought in rules that would mean Serbs in Kosovo must use Kosovo licence plates.

A similar rule is applied by Belgrade authorities to Kosovars who visit Serbia. Kosovo police said they had to close the border crossings. The statement said KFOR was “monitoring closely” and “prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardised”.

Kosovo's government is acccusing neighboring Serbia of trying to destabilize the country as ethnic Serbs block roads and conduct other incidents in the ...

The reverse is required by Serbia for vehicles from Kosovo that go to Serbia. But Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. The NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo said it was monitoring the “tense” situation in northern Kosovo and was “prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardized.”

The Kosovo government has postponed implementing a decision that would oblige Serbs in the north of the country to apply for car number plates issued by ...

The government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti said it would give Serbs a transitional period of 60 days to get Kosovo number plates, a year after giving up trying to impose them due to similar protests. The Kosovo government has postponed implementing a decision that would oblige Serbs in the north of the country to apply for car number plates issued by Pristina institutions over tensions between police and communities that set roadblocks. "The overall security situation in the northern municipalities of Kosovo is tense," NATO-led mission to Kosovo KFOR said.

An air of hostility rose in the region a day before Kosovan government regulations concerning Serbian-issued licence plates and ID documents come into ...

According to reports machine gun fire was heard just over 10 km west of the Serbian and Kosovo borders. Footage has surfaced on Twitter from the Serbian-Kosovo border region, in which sirens and machine gun fire can be heard. In addition, a new regulation regarding licence plates will also come into effect on August 1.

The NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission said it is monitoring the protests over a new ID law and is prepared to intervene "if stability is jeopardized.”

The weekend unrest comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stirred wider tensions in the region. The Western military alliance launched a bombing campaign in 1999 that hit targets across what was then combined Serbia and Montenegro in a bid to halt Serbia’s onslaught against ethnic Kosovar Albanians fighting for autonomy. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, welcomed a decision by Kosovo to delay the new measures until Sept. 1 and called for all roadblocks to be removed immediately.

Tensions arise after Pristina asks people entering Kosovo with Serbian IDs to replace them with a temporary document.

They remain politically loyal to Serbia which still provides financial support. The latest tensions came after the government in Pristina said from Monday, people entering Kosovo with Serbian IDs would have to replace them with a temporary document during their stay in the country. Kosovo’s government has postponed for a month the implementation of new border rules that sparked tensions in the north of the country where ethnic Serbs blocked roads and unknown gunmen fired on police.

Fears of Balkan instability grew on Sunday as ethnic Serbs blocked roads in protest over regulations requiring Serbs in northern Kosovo to use Pristina-issued ...

“Expect all roadblocks to be removed immediately,” he said. “The overall security situation in the Northern municipalities of Kosovo is tense,” KFOR said in a statement, adding that the “mission is monitoring closely and is prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardized, in accordance with its mandate.” The spat over license plates already fueled tensions last year.

Amidst escalating tension in Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said: "No matter how difficult it is, there will be no surrender, Serbia will win," ...

Kosovo accused Serbia on Sunday of fomenting unrest and trying to undermine the “rule of law” in the breakaway province. “The atmosphere has been heated up, and Serbs will not suffer any more atrocities,” Vucic said in Belgrade on Sunday. “My plea to everyone is to try to keep the peace at almost any cost. Vucic has claimed that “provocations” against Serbs living in Kosovo have increased since Kurti, a nationalist who champions the idea of Albanian unification, became prime minister last year. At least one Serb has been reportedly beaten up by Kosovo police units as he tried to get through the barricades. He added that Kosovo police have been deployed to the administrative line with Serbia in order to confiscate Serb documents and license plates, starting at midnight. NATO occupied Kosovo in 1999, after a 78-day air war against what was then Yugoslavia. The province declared independence in 2008, with Western support. “It remains for us to come to the preservation of peace. The force was spotted guarding a bridge across the Ibar river, footage from the scene circulated by local media shows. He issued a plea for peace in the breakaway province, but added that Belgrade won’t stand idly by if ethnic Serbs are targeted for another pogrom. Ethnic Serbs have reportedly set up barricades on several roads in Kosovska Mitrovica and its vicinity. “It is important that the dialogue continues and that we try to solve things peacefully. According to Vucic, Pristina’s move has been planned at all levels for a very long time.

Kosovo's government on Monday began issuing extra documents to Serbian citizens crossing into its territory, as Serbs living in the north of the country who ...

Italian peacekeepers were visible in and around then northern town of Mitrovica on Sunday. A year ago, after local Serbs blocked the same roads in another row over license plates, Kosovo's government deployed special police forces and Belgrade flew fighter jets close to the border. Following tensions on Sunday and consultations with US and EU ambassadors, the government said it would postpone until September 1 a decision giving local Serbs 60 days to switch to Kosovo license plates and requiring extra documents to be issued at the border to Serbian citizens, including those living in Kosovo without local documents.

Under new regulations that were meant to take effect on Aug. 1, ethnic Serbs living in villages in northern Kosovo would have had to apply for license plates ...

Serbia and Kosovo fought a brutal war between 1998 and 1999 that ended with the involvement of NATO in a U.S.-backed bombing campaign against Serbian territory. Members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were also accused of committing war crimes against ethnic Serbs in Kosovo and those they viewed as collaborators. Western countries and NATO became involved, bringing the parties together in France in February 1999 to negotiate a truce. The creation of the force was approved by a U.N. Security Council resolution. Albin Kurti, Kosovo’s prime minister, accused the protesters of trying to “destabilize” Kosovo and charged that Serbia was orchestrating “aggressive acts” during the protests. Kosovo’s allies, including the United States and European Union, called for calm and urged Pristina to delay implementation of the new rules. Another rule would have forced Serbian nationals visiting Kosovo to get an additional entry-exit document from Kosovar authorities at the border. Serbia imposes a similar rule on Kosovars seeking to cross its borders. Since the 1998-99 war, some in that population had used Serbian license plates with a different status. Authorities in Kosovo tolerated the dual-track system to preserve the peace but said last year they would no longer do so. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, but Serbia still considers Kosovo its province. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, “We have never been in a more difficult situation.”

NATO-led peacekeepers backed by helicopters on Monday oversaw the removal of roadblocks protesters had set up in north Kosovo, where political tensions have ...

Tensions with Serbia remain high and Kosovo's fragile peace is maintained by NATO's KFOR mission, which has 3,770 troops on the ground. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com It was not immediately clear how many of the roadblocks were removed. “Violence will not be tolerated. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - Kosovo's authorities early Monday moved to ease mounting ethnic tensions in the country by delaying a controversial order on vehicle ...

Vucic said Kosovo cannot stop its ethnic Serbs from using Serbian identity cards when they cross the border. For the past 11 years, the reverse was required by Serbia for vehicles driving from Kosovo that transit through Serbia. The NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo said it was monitoring the “tense” situation in northern Kosovo and was “prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardized.” But Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence. He accused Kosovo of trying to make itself the victim and “taking advantage of the mood in the world where they think they can play cards,” he said, adding that Kurti is trying to be seen in the same light as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Kosovo government accused neighboring Serbia of instigating the riots in order to destabilize the country that declared independence in 2008 after a NATO intervention that stopped Serbia's bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999.