Serb militants in northern Kosovo have begun to abandon the barricades they have erected. Serbian-language news portal Kossev.info reported that no one was on guard at the roadblock near the village of Rudare, and activists’ tents were deserted. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had announced the night before that the barricades would be dismantled within the next 48 hours.
Over the past three weeks, Serb militants have erected barricades in a dozen places in northern Kosovo, blocking, among other things, access routes to two border crossings with Serbia.
dismantled barricades
Vucic today raised the alert high for the military and police. This was reported by state news agency Tanjug, citing the Presidential Chancellery. Vucic blamed the increased readiness three days ago on recent tensions in Kosovo.
Meanwhile, the barricade on the Serbian side of the Merdare border was dismantled. The day before, trucks parked sideways had blocked access to the most important border crossing between Serbia and Kosovo. Kosovo authorities closed the border crossing on their side.
Kosovo, which is now almost exclusively inhabited by Albanians, belonged to Serbia and has been independent since 2008. To this day, Serbia has not accepted this and is claiming the country’s territory for itself. The area north of the divided city of Mitrovica is almost exclusively inhabited by Serbs.