PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) – Serbia on Monday put its security forces on the border with Kosovo to “the full state of combat readiness,” ignoring NATO calls for a calming of tensions between the two warring parties in the Balkans.
Serbia’s Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic said he had ordered “full combat readiness” for the police and other security units and placed them under the command of the army chief of staff according to “their operational plan”.
He said in a statement that he was acting on orders from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for “all measures to be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo.”
It was not immediately clear what this order meant on the ground, as Serb troops had been on alert at the Kosovo border for some time. Officials claim Kosovo Serbs have allegedly been harassed by ethnic Albanians, who form a majority in the breakaway province that declared independence in 2008.
Earlier Monday, NATO-led peacekeepers said they are investigating a shootout in a tense northern region of Kosovo and urged calm as Serbia’s top military officials inspected their troops at the border to demonstrate their combat readiness.
Sunday night’s incident took place in Zubin Potok, a town where local ethnic Serbs have been manning street barricades for the past two weeks and where tensions have been running high.
The peacekeepers, known as KFOR, said the incident happened near one of their patrols, which involved unidentified people. A statement said no one was injured and “we are working to establish all the facts.”
Serbia’s defense minister and army chief of staff traveled to the Kosovo border and praised the combat readiness of Serbian troops and their firepower, including howitzers and other military equipment. Serbia, which has been armed by Russian donations and military purchases, has long rattled and threatened violence against its former province.
Years after the 1998-99 war that ended in NATO intervention, Kosovo remains a potential flashpoint in the Balkans. Serbia does not recognize its former province’s 2008 declaration of independence, while Western attempts at mediation have so far failed.
“It is important for all involved to avoid any rhetoric or actions that could create tension and escalate the situation,” KFOR said in a statement. “We expect all actors to refrain from provocative displays of power and to seek the best solution to ensure the safety of all communities.”
Fears of violence have increased since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine. The United States and most European Union countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence, while Serbia is relying on Russia and China in its attempt to maintain its claim to the province.
The rising tensions address several issues in international efforts to step up mediation efforts. Most recently, ethnic Serbs set up roadblocks in the north to protest the arrest of a former Serb police officer.
Earlier, Serbs in the north had left Kosovo’s institutions, citing harassment by Kosovar authorities. Belgrade has repeatedly warned against protecting local Serbs “by any means necessary” if attacked.
The Kosovar government has asked NATO troops – deployed in 1999 after the transatlantic alliance bombed Serbia to force it out of Kosovo – to remove Serbian roadblocks. Prime Minister Albin Kurti, KFOR Commander Major General Angelo Michele Ristuccia and Lars-Gunnar Wigermark, who heads an EU law and order mission, met on Monday to discuss the situation, KFOR said on Twitter.
Kurti’s office said that “the overall conclusion from this meeting is that freedom of movement should be restored and that there should be no barricades on any street.”
Serbia held a high-level meeting on Sunday after the shooting, with the army chief of staff later driving to the southern town of Raska near Kosovo, where Serbian army troops are stationed. Local media showed video of gunshots and screams being heard, but it did not clearly show what happened at one of the barricades.
General Milan Mojsilovic told local media the army received “clear and precise” instructions from Serbia’s populist President Vucic. Mojsilovic described the situation as “serious”, adding that it requires the “presence of the Serbian army along the administrative line” with Kosovo, state television RTS reported.
Serbian army vehicles were seen on the streets of the area on Monday, and the Balkan state’s defense minister also arrived. Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic, General Mojsilovic and other senior army officers discussed the security situation during a meeting in Raska, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Serbia has asked KFOR to deploy up to 1,000 of its troops in Serb-populated northern Kosovo to protect Kosovo Serbs from alleged harassment by ethnic Albanians, who make up the majority in the country. The application has not yet been granted.
Adding to the tensions, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije was refused entry into Kosovo at a border crossing on Monday after he said he wanted to deliver a message of peace for the Serbian Orthodox Christmas, which will be celebrated on January 7.