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

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

Kosovo police said they had to close the border crossings. Italian peacekeepers were visible in and around Mitrovica on Sunday. The government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti said it would give Serbs a transitional period of 60 days to get Kosovo license plates, a year after giving up trying to impose them because of similar protests.

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”.

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.

On July 31, ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo blocked roads near two key border crossings with Serbia as tensions rose in the region a day before the two ...

Satellite photos taken before and after the attack show that a small building in the middle of the Olenivka prison complex was damaged, its roof in splinters. The department said they played various roles in Russia’s attempts to manipulate and destabilize the United States and its allies and partners, including Ukraine. The Kremlin said importers had to establish an account in dollars or euros at Russia’s third-largest bank, Gazprombank, then a second account in rubles. Headquartered in Mykolayiv, a strategically important city that borders the Russian-occupied Kherson region, Nibulon, specializes in the production and export of wheat, barley. The Russian Defense Ministry on July 30 published a list naming 48 Ukrainian fighters aged 20 to 62 who were killed in the attack. "We are ready for the EU and are moving forward with a firm step toward full membership of the union. Putin stressed that the navy's ability to respond to threats with "lightning speed" was key to protecting Russia's sovereignty and freedom. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. We only need a decision from the people themselves, who have not yet made it for themselves," he said in his nightly address on July 31. Turkey's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the vessel was expected in Istanbul on August 2. Ukraine has always been a reliable partner and will remain one should Russia respect its part of the deal," Kuleba tweeted. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

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.

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.

Kosovo agreed to postpone by 30 days its plan to make government-issued ID cards and car plates mandatory for all residents after members of its restive ...

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.

The Kosovo government postponed implementation of a decision that would oblige Serbs in the north to apply for car license plates after tensions heightened.

Kosovo police said they had to close the border crossings. Kosovo police said they had to close the border crossings. Italian peacekeepers were visible in and around Mitrovica on Sunday.

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

Social media users are spreading disinformation about a full-scale 'war' that has allegedly already broken out between Kosovo and Serbia after Kosovo Serbs ...

Several Kosovo media such as Nacionale and Indeks Online among others reported that a Kosovo police official and two Serbian citizens had been injured by gunfire between police and the citizens that erected the barricades. It’s why ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal on Yugoslavia) should be dissolved,” Grenell said in one tweet, which received over 500 likes. A similar escalation occurred in September 2021, after Kosovo’s government required vehicles with Serbian licence plates to switch to temporary Kosovo-issued ones at the border. Photos from last year are being shared on social media as if they happened on Sunday, On July 31, 2022. Up to 1,501 citizens have been provided with this document, waiting 20 seconds”. “This is an irresponsible and unnecessary comment. 🇷🇸 is trying to start an aggressive war. Serbia is trying to start an aggressive war.” If Serbia invades#Kosovo, we should defend the Kosovars. 🇺🇦 is ready to act with our troops on the ground. Barricades in the village of Rudar, on the road to Serb-majority Kosovo municipality of Leposavic, close to the border with Serbia, August 1, 2022. Nor has Ukraine recognized Kosovo’s sovereignty. Photo: Adelina Ahmeti/BIRN

Bloc calls on parties to show restraint, continue with EU-led dialogue to solve recent tensions - Anadolu Agency.

Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to normalize relations between the two Balkan countries and to find a mutually agreeable solution for the disputes in the framework of a legally binding agreement. He said “all open issues between Serbia and Kosovo need to be addressed through the EU-facilitated dialogue,” which is essential for the two countries’ path toward the EU. The European Union on Monday urged Kosovo and Serbia to show restraint in the recent upsurge of tensions over new border rules, and invited the parties to continue talks in Brussels.