The NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, is conducting military exercises near its base in Novosella.

The exercises aim to train KFOR units to guarantee freedom of movement in times of crisis and ‘consist of a series of tactical simulations, including heavy equipment and helicopters’

The announcement of these exercises comes at a time when the Kosovo authorities are calling for the removal of barricades erected by local Serbs in the north of Kosovo.

KFOR announced on December 16 that it has increased the number of patrol teams in the north.

The barricades were erected on December 10 in this part of Kosovo, as a sign of dissatisfaction with the arrest of the former Serbian officer of the Kosovo Police, Dejan Pantiq.

He is suspected of having organized a “terrorist attack” on the offices of the Central Election Commission in the north of Kosovo earlier in December.

Finally, the Serbian authorities have sent a request to KFOR for the engagement of up to 1,000 Serbian security personnel in Kosovo, calling on The NATO mission has said that it is “examining it”.