"Immediate threat of war": Serbia initiates the next level of escalation on the Kosovo border

Created: 12/28/2022 5:49 am

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

In the background of the tensions with Kosovo, the Serbian military has increased combat readiness.

(Archive image) © Twitter/@mo_i_vs

Serbs in Kosovo speak of an "imminent threat of war".

Now President Vucic is putting the Serbian army on alert.

Munich – The tensions between Serbia and Kosovo are not ending.

On the contrary: the situation seems to be threatening to escalate.

Now both sides are considering military options.

The Serbian government has put the army on increased alert.

Belgrade blames the Kosovar government under Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Serbia-Kosovo conflict: Vucic orders military "increased combat readiness".

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said on Monday evening (December 26) that President Aleksandar Vucic had ordered "highest combat readiness".

The defense minister stressed that there was no reason to panic, but that there was reason for concern.

With the increased readiness to fight, the Serbian army wants to prevent a possible "pogrom and terror" against Serbs, he emphasized to the Tanjug news agency.

Army chief Milan Mojsilovic had previously stated that Vucic had sent him to the Kosovo border in view of the “complicated situation”.

According to a report in the "Tagesschau", the army chief emphasized that the situation was serious and required the "presence of the Serbian armed forces along the administrative border".

Vucevic and Mojsilovic visited Serbian troops together in the small town of Raska, just a few kilometers from the Kosovan border, on Tuesday.

Serbian Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic confirmed the Serbian government's decision.

He issued the appropriate order to the police and other units on Vucic's orders.

The aim is "to take all measures to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo", underlined the minister.

Serbia-Kosovo conflict: Belgrade expects "attack" on Serbs in north in dispute over barricades

Defense Minister Vucevic justified the decision to increase combat readiness to the Tanjug agency.

He accused Kurti's Kosovar government of preparing for an attack on Serbs in the north of the region.

According to Vucevic, Pristina wants to "violently" lift the barricades erected by Serbs.

Serbs in northern Kosovo have erected numerous barricades on the streets for the past two weeks or so.

It is said from Belgrade that the Serbs are protecting themselves against possible Kosovar attacks.

Pristina, on the other hand, complains that the barriers set up by "criminal groups" impede freedom of movement.

The Kosovan police reported that two new barricades had been set up on Tuesday night (December 27).

Several trucks loaded with stones and sand have been blocking one of the entrances to a neighborhood inhabited by Bosniaks in the divided city of Mitrovica since Tuesday morning, the city-based Serbian-language news portal

.

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Kosovo, with its majority Albanian population, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but is still considered a breakaway territory by Belgrade.

Despite mediation efforts by the EU, the neighboring countries have been at odds for years.

Belgrade is encouraging the Serb minority in northern Kosovo in their attempts to defy Pristina's authority.

Serbia-Kosovo conflict: Kurti sees NATO troop KFOR as responsible for lifting lockdowns

Kurti, meanwhile, spoke up and demanded that the NATO force KFOR lift the barricades.

"I know that this cannot go on for long," he told the Bosnian news portal

.

He will meet with the NATO troops and get an idea of ​​the situation.

"And if KFOR is not able to lift these barricades, then we will," he said.

After all, KFOR has repeatedly emphasized for 23 years that it stands for "peace, security and freedom of movement".

Now this has to be proven, Kurti demanded.

"And if that's not proven, then we'll have to deal with it ourselves."

Serbia sees a clear threat here.

Petar Petkovic, the Serbian government's envoy to Kosovo, joined Vucevic.

He also expects an "attack" on Serbs in northern Kosovo.

Vucic's order for increased combat readiness of the Serbian military is the "response to the imminent threat of war," the Serbian government official said, according to the

newspaper .

After all, the Kosovar army was the first to increase its combat readiness "to attack our women, the elderly, children and men," he accused.

Kosovo dispute: Vucic wants to maintain "peace and stability" but also take "every measure".

Head of state Vucic made similar statements on Monday (December 26) in a video on Instagram.

The Kosovan government has increased combat readiness, which is why he will also take "every measure" to "protect our people and save Serbia," he said in the video, according to the Tanjug agency.

Serbia is doing everything to maintain peace and stability.

"Unfortunately, they don't want to listen to us, they weren't even interested," says Vucic.

You are in a "difficult situation".

However, it is not clear what exactly the state of alert means and will achieve - because the Serbian military has been in this state for quite some time.

In any case, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic recently warned that both countries were "really on the verge of armed conflict".

In the background of the conflict, Brnabic had also attacked German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.