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Kosovo shuts main border crossing with Serbia amid protests | Politics News

Pristina’s closure of the Merdare border crossing on Kosovo’s eastern border comes amid tensions with its spiraling Balkan neighbour.

Kosovo has closed its largest border crossing after protesters blocked it on the Serbian side in support of its ethnic people in Kosovo refusing to recognize the country’s independence.

Wednesday’s move has left only three crossings between the two countries open, with another two on the Serbian border closed by similar protests on their Kosovar side since December 10.

The latest protest comes hours after Serbia said it had sent troops into the war. highest possible alert level after weeks of escalating tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.

Serbs in Serbia used a truck and tractor on Tuesday to create the latest vehicle barriersnear the Merdare border crossing on the eastern border of Kosovo, Belgrade-based media reported.

Congestion is preventing thousands of Kosovars working elsewhere in Europe from returning home for the holidays.

Some 50,000 Serbs living in ethnically divided northern Kosovo refuse to recognize the government in Pristina or Kosovo’s status as a separate state from Serbia. They have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and their government.

The closure is in effect

“If you have entered Serbia then you have to use other border crossings… or go through North Macedonia,” Kosovo’s foreign ministry said on its Facebook page, announcing the closure of the Merdare border crossing.

The closure went into effect at midnight, although the crossing appeared unusable.

The entry point to Merdare is Kosovo’s most important point for road transport. The country has international railway lines.

A man crosses a road near a barricade north of the town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, where there are different ethnicities, December 27, 2022. REUTERS/Miodrag Draskic
A man crosses a road near a barricade in the town of Mitrovica, north of Kosovo. [Miodrag Draskic/Reuters]

Since December 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged gunfire with police and erected more than 10 barricades in and around Mitrovica.

Their action follows the arrest of a former Serb police officer for allegedly assaulting serving police officers.

On Tuesday, two more barricades were erected to the north.

Russian influence

The Interior Minister of Kosovo accused Serbia, under Russian influence, of trying to destabilize his country through protests.

Serbia denies it is trying to destabilize its neighbour, saying it only wants to protect the Serbian minority living in what is now Kosovan territory but not recognized by Belgrade.

Moscow said on Wednesday it supported Serbia’s efforts to protect ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo but denied Pristina’s accusations that Russia had somehow raised tensions in an attempt to sow chaos. across the Balkans.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said seeking Russia’s destructive influence was “a mistake”.

“Serbia is a sovereign state, and it naturally protects the rights of the Serbs living nearby in such difficult conditions, and will naturally react harshly when these rights are denied. violations,” Peskov said.

“Having a very close alliance, history and spirit with Serbia, Russia is watching very closely what is happening, how the rights of the Serbs are respected and guaranteed,” he added. . “And, of course, we support Belgrade in the actions that are being taken.”

Decades of chaos

The Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with Western backing, following the 1998-1999 war in which NATO intervened to protect ethnic Albanian citizens.

The Kosovo government has asked NATO’s peacekeepers for the country, a force of about 4,000 KFOR, to clear the barricades. But KFOR has no authority to act on Serbian soil.

Kosovo’s declaration of independence comes 10 years after fighting between Albanian fighters and Serbian forces left 13,000 people dead, mostly Albanians.

Serbia, backed by allies Russia and China, does not recognize the former province’s statehood but most Western countries do, including the United States.



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