Kosovo Police enters northern municipalities, Serbia raises combat readiness

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Kosovo’s Police used teargas and stun grenades to disperse citizens gathered in front of the municipal facility in Zvečan, a municipality inhabited by a majority of Serbs in the northern part of the country. Alarm sirens were first heard in the four northern municipalities, with citizens also gathering in front of the municipal buildings in Zubin Potok, Zvečan and Leposavić.

Previously, the Kosovo Police announced they were assisting the new mayors of the northern municipalities, namely Zvečan, Leposavić and Zubin Potok enter the official facilities of the respective municipalities.

Kosovo’s authorities blamed Serbia’s “illegal and criminal structures” in north Kosovo of receiving orders to escalate the situation on the ground. “Violence will not prevail. Serbia bears full responsibility for the escalation,” wrote Blerim Vela, Chief of Staff to the President of Kosovo on his Twitter account.

Belgrade’s reaction was immediate, with President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić giving the order to raise the combat readiness of the Serbian army to the highest level. Reportedly, the Serbian army has been ordered “to urgently move” towards the border with Kosovo. Meanwhile, Serbs in the north have started barricading the entry to Zvečan, after the situation escalated.

According to information, the Kosovo Police has already managed to enter the facility of the Municipality of Zvečan. Meanwhile, the situation in Leposavić and Zubin Potok appears to be calm.

The leaders of these Serb-majority municipalities, all Albanian, were sworn in a day earlier in public buildings, such as schools, for security reasons. Although they said that soon they would start work from the municipal facilities, it was not clear when such a step would be taken.

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