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☆ A Land Once Emptied by War Now Faces a Peacetime Exodus
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Andrew Higgins | Vladimir Zivojinovic | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than half the villagers were fellow Muslims, the rest Serbs, but nobody, he said, paid much attention to that until extremist politicians started screaming for blood. After more than a decade away from his home in eastern Bosnia, the farmer, Fikret Puhalo, 61, returned to his village, Socice. By then it had 100 or so people, Serbs who had stayed throughout and a few Muslims who had decided it was safe to go back. “Everyone else died or moved away,” said Mr. Puhalo, gesturing to empty homes scattered across the rocky hills around the family land where he grazes his sheep. “Not a single child has been born here since I returned,” he said.

Persons: Fikret Puhalo, ”, Puhalo Locations: Bosnian, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Socice

☆ Interpol Issues Arrest Warrants for Gunmen in Last Year Kosovo Attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Global police agency Interpol has issued international arrest warrants for ethnic Serb gunmen accused of storming a village last year in north of Kosovo and battling police in a shootout, which left four dead, Kosovo's interior minister said on Friday. Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said Interpol has informed that all suspects of the Banjska attack have been added in the arrest warrant. Kosovo blames Serbia of being behind the shootout but Belgrade has denied such accusations. They have often clashed with Kosovo police and international peacekeepers, but last September's violence was the worst since Kosovo declared independence in 2008. Kosovo is still not a member of United Nations and all arrest warrants for Interpol are handled through a UN mission that arrived in Kosovo in 1999 when the war ended.

Persons: Xhelal Svecla, Svecla, Fatos Bytyci, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Global, Interpol, Reuters, Milan, Kosovo Serb, Facebook, Belgrade, Kosovo police, United Nations, UN Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbia, Serbian, Banjska, Belgrade

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo sparred at the United Nations over the latter's ban of the use of the Serbian currency in areas where minority Serbs live, the latest crisis between the two governments. The dinar was widely used in ethnic Serbian-dominated areas, especially in Kosovo's north, to pay pensions and salaries to staff in Serbian parallel institutions, including schools and hospitals. In 1999, a 78-day NATO bombing campaign ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Serbian forces were pushed out but Belgrade never recognized Kosovo’s independence and still considers it a Serbian province. The European Union and the United States expressed concern that Kosovo’s ban of the dinar could raise tensions in an already volatile region and called for consultations and a delay in the ban.

Persons: Aleksandar Vucic, ”, Albin Kurti, ” Kurti, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Dmitry Polyansky, Kurti Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Kosovo sparred, United Nations, . Security, NATO, Albanian, European Union, Center for Peace Locations: Serbia, Kosovo, Serbian, Kosovo's, Belgrade, Western Europe, United States, Pristina

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers called on Thursday for an independent investigation into allegations of vote-rigging in Serbia and demanded that EU funds be cut off if the authorities in Belgrade fail to cooperate with the inquiry or are found to be implicated in election irregularities. The governing Serbian Progressive party of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić won the Dec. 17 parliamentary and municipal elections, securing 129 seats in the 250-seat assembly. The opposition Serbia Against Violence coalition finished a distant second with 65 seats. The resolution has angered Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. Vučić’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his failure to enforce EU sanctions on Moscow have dismayed many.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, watchdogs, “, ”, Ana Brnabić, ” Brnabić, Vladimir Putin, ___ Dusan Stojanovic Organizations: —, Union, Serbian Progressive, Serbian, Violence, Organization for Security, Cooperation, Parliamentary, of Europe, Serbia’s National Assembly Locations: BRUSSELS, Serbia, Belgrade, Europe, Strasbourg, France, Moscow

☆ 'Stability is fragile': An overlooked European conflict zone is at a tipping point between peace and combat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The clash broke out in the village when a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge with two trucks. A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police, leaving one police officer dead and another injured. Relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which have been fraught since the pair's brutal conflict in the 1990s, remain delicate one year on from a tentative agreement on a new path to normalization. We cannot take peace and stability for granted," Miroslav Lajčák, EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and Western Balkans, told CNBC in Davos, Switzerland last month. The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is a series of talks facilitated by the European Union designed to ease hostilities between the neighboring southeastern European countries.

Persons: Milan Radoicic, Vudi Xhymshiti, Miroslav Lajčák Organizations: Kosovo Police, Kosovo Serb, Milan, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images, Belgrade, CNBC, European Union Locations: Banjska, Zvecan, Kosovo, Davos, SWITZERLAND, Russia, Ukraine, EU, Serbia, Pristina, Balkans, Switzerland, Belgrade, Serbs

☆ Trial of Bosnian Serb Leader Dodik Formally Begins After Delays
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The trial of Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik on charges of defying the rulings of an international peace envoy formally begun on Monday after delays due to his protests against judges he said were biased and other complaints. The trial is taking place at Bosnia´s state court in the capital Sarajevo. The state court dismissed Bubic's earlier requests for eight judges to be exempted from the case over alleged political biases against Dodik. Asked if he has understood the indictment, Dodik said he did not understand any part of it and that it represented a "distortion of facts". "It has not been backed by a single fact, it was done under political pressure by incompetent prosecutors," Dodik told the judge.

Persons: Milorad Dodik, Dodik, Goran Bubic, Sena Uzunovic, Judge Uzunovic, Christian Schmidt, Schmidt, Bubic's, Dodik's, Gordana Bosiljcic, ´, Dodik ´, Daria Sito, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Bosnia, High, United Nations Security Council Locations: SARAJEVO, Bosnian, Bosnia, Serb Republic, German, Sarajevo, Republic

In the past week, Kosovo police searched the premises of Serbia-administered institutions and of an ethnic Serb non-governmental organization, confiscating papers and computers believed to hold documentation contrary to the country’s laws. Most of Kosovo uses the euro, even though the country isn’t part of the EU. “The EU urges Kosovo to avoid unilateral actions that could raise tensions, and to address these issues through the EU-facilitated dialogue,” the EU statement said. Serbian forces fought a 1998-99 war with ethnic Albanian separatists in what was then the province of Kosovo. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died until a 78-day NATO bombing campaign pushed Serbian forces away.

Persons: Jeffrey Hovenier, ”, Besnik Bislimi, Aleksandar Vučić, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell Organizations: European Union, Kosovo, Police, Ambassador, EU, Serbian, Kosovo police, NATO, Belgrade doesn’t Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, United States, Serbia, Serbian, Belgrade, Kosovo’s, Serbs, Kosovo Serb, EU, Hovenier

Most of Kosovo uses the euro, even though the country isn't part of the EU. But parts of Kosovo's north, populated mostly by ethnic Serbs, continue to use the dinar. The Central Bank reported on Wednesday that Serbian bank Komercijalna Banka AD Beograd closed its branches in Kosovo. Serbian forces fought a 1998-99 war with ethnic Albanian separatists in what was then the province of Kosovo. Kosovo eventually declared independence in 2008, but the government in Belgrade doesn't recognize its neighbor as a separate country.

Persons: Kosovo's, Aleksandar Vučić, Alexander, Botsan, ” Vucic, ”, Besnik Bislimi, Albin Kurti, Miroslav Lajčák, Josep Borrell, ___ Llazar Semini Organizations: Union, Serbian, Kosovo’s Central Bank, Western, The Central Bank, NATO, Belgrade doesn't, European Union, Kosovo, Kosovo police, EU Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbian, Kosovo's, Serbs, Serbia, Russia, Russian, Belgrade, Pristina, Metohija, Kosovo Serbs, ” Kosovo, Komercijalna Banka, Beograd, Brussels, EU, United States, Vučić, Balkans, Kosovo’s, Tirana, Albania

☆ British troops patrol Kosovo-Serbia border as tensions remain high
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] British troops part of the NATO reinforcements patrol at the Kosovo-Serbia border in Jarinje, Kosovo November 24, 2023. NATO has sent 1,000 extra troops to the region, bringing its presence there to 4,500 peacekeepers from 27 countries. British soldiers are now being deployed in 18-hour shifts in freezing conditions to make sure no weapons or armed groups enter Kosovo. Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla uprising and a 1999 NATO intervention. Around five percent of the population in Kosovo are ethnic Serbs, of which half live in the north and refuse to recognize Kosovo independence and see Belgrade as their capital.

Persons: Valdrin, Joss Gaddie, Jens Stoltenberg, Albin Kurti's, Fatos Bytyci, Mike Harrison Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Belgrade, KFOR, British Army, Reuters, Kosovo, Kosovo police, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, Serbia, Jarinje, NATO, Britain, Romania, Banjska, Balkans, Belgrade, Pristina

☆ NATO's Stoltenberg concerned by secessionist rhetoric in Bosnia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shakes hands with Bosnian Prime Minister Borjana Kristo during his visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 20, 2023. Bosnia emerged from a 1992-1995 war with a federal structure uniting a Serb-dominated republic with a federation of Croats and Bosniak Muslims. "We are concerned by secessionist and divisive rhetoric as well as .. foreign interference including Russia," Stoltenberg told reporters in Sarajevo, his first stop during a tour of the Western Balkans region. NATO has warned about risks for Bosnia from foreign interference, particularly from Russia, and agreed to help to shore up its ability to defend itself. Every country has the right to choose its security arrangements without foreign interference," Stoltenberg said after meeting the chairwoman of Bosnia's Council of Ministers, Borjana Kristo.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Borjana Kristo, Amel, Milorad Dodik, Stoltenberg, Christian Schmidt, " Stoltenberg, Borjana, Daria Sito, Toby Chopra, Peter Graff Organizations: NATO, Bosnian, REUTERS, Rights, Representative, UN Security Council, Bosnia's, Ministers, Thomson Locations: Sarajevo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Rights SARAJEVO, Serbia, Russia, Western Balkans, Yugoslavia, masse, EU, Ukraine, Balkans, Bosnian, Russian Bosnian Serbs

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that Vulin used his public authority to help a U.S.-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer move illegal arms shipments across Serbia’s borders. The close associate of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had previously served as both the army and police chief. “The U.S. and the EU are looking for my head as a precondition for not imposing sanctions on Serbia," Vulin said in a statement. “I will not allow myself to be the cause of blackmail and pressure on Serbia and the Serbian world. The trip underscored Belgrade’s refusal to join Western sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Aleksandar Vulin, Vulin, Aleksandar Vučić, ”, Vladimir Putin —, Vučić, “, ” Vulin, Sergey Lavrov, Vulin’s Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department’s, Foreign, Control, BIA, Serbian, USA, Russia, Russian, European Union, EU Locations: BELGRADE, Serbia, Russia, United States, Balkan, U.S, Serbian, Vulin, EU, Moscow, Ukraine, Europe, Kosovo

☆ A 'festering' powder keg in Europe is lurking in the shadow of the Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Consequently, the Serbia-Kosovo discord, while festering, finds itself languishing in the shadow of these more immediate and globally resonant challenges." It highlights a major challenge for policymakers: providing ongoing conflicts with near-constant attention, while still monitoring other strategically significant risks. "The fact remains that the Balkan region is a powder keg, where even minor incidents can swiftly spiral into broader conflicts. History has underscored the adage that what happens in the Balkans, doesn't stay in the Balkans," the CEPA's Hartwell said. "The U.S., EU and U.K. do not have the diplomatic and military bandwidth to respond to several conflicts of strategic interest.

Persons: Stringer, Leon Hartwell, Hartwell, Banjska, doesn't, Majda Ruge Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, KFOR, Afp, Getty, Center for, CNBC, European Union, Anadolu Agency, European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Mitrovica, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Balkans, Europe, Serbia, Kosovo, Palestine, Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Southern, Eastern Europe, Moscow, Brussels, Washington, Serbs, Kosovan, U.S, EU, Pristina, destabilising Kosovo, Yugoslavia

☆ European leaders urge Serbia to 'de facto' recognise Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Much of the tension has focused on northern Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs form a majority. Serbia and Kosovo have spent years talks mediated by the European Union to normalise their relations. While the EU has previously shied away from the politically sensitive question of de facto recognition of Kosovo, the three leaders made clear that was what they expected from Serbia, putting pressure on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. "We call on Kosovo to launch the procedure to establish the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities in Kosovo as prescribed in the draft Statute, and on Serbia to deliver on de-facto recognition," the statement said. "Without progress in normalising relations, both sides risk missing important opportunities," the three leaders said.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Giorgia Meloni, Macron, Scholz, Meloni, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Vucic, Andrew Gray, Angelo Amante, Alistair Bell Organizations: Italian, Kosovo, European Union, EU, Serbian, of Serb, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, France, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Kosovo, Belgrade, EU

☆ Opinion: A path to peace in Middle East is possible. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Opinion Miriam Sapiro | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

She has served at the National Security Council, at the State Department as a negotiator for the Bosnia Peace Accords, and as Deputy US Trade Representative. A similarly firm hand — and robust US leadership — will also be necessary for any peace deal to be forged in the Middle East. Similarly, Hamas’ current leadership would certainly not be welcome at the table should Mideast peace talks resume. That should compel them to help increase isolation of Hamas as well as play an active and useful role in future peace talks. With the key players thinking strategically and acting tactically — as eventually happened in Bosnia — peace in the Middle East may have a chance.

Persons: Miriam Sapiro, Miriam Sapiro Sard, Biden’s, Bosnians, —, ’, Madeleine Albright, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Organizations: Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Council, State Department, Accords, US Trade Representative, CNN CNN, Hamas, US, UN, Bosnian, Bosnian Serbs, —, Belgrade, West Bank, Bosnia Contact, EU, United Arab, CNN, Twitter, Palestinian, European Union, Bank, Authority Locations: Bosnia, Israel, Balkans, Yugoslavia, Bosnian, Washington, Dayton , Ohio, — Serbia, Croatia, Dayton, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, United States, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, America, Iran, Oslo Accords, Ramallah

☆ EU Envoy Tells Kosovo and Serbia to Return to Dialogue
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA (Reuters) - The European Union Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak urged Serbia and Kosovo to return to dialogue on normalising ties to avoid a repeat of last month's violence in northern Kosovo. Police recaptured the monastery after a shootout in which three attackers and a Kosovo police officer were killed. They have often clashed with Kosovo police and international peacekeepers, but last month's violence was the worst in years. Lajcak urged Pristina to start working on establishing an association of Serb municipalities to allow greater autonomy for Serb majority areas. Lajcak urged Belgrade to investigate the events and punish any perpetrators in its territory.

Persons: Miroslav Lajcak, Lajcak, Albin Kurti, gunbattle, Gabriel Escobar, Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Ros Russell Organizations: Union, Serbs, Police, Kosovo, United States, Serbian, Kosovo police Locations: PRISTINA, Serbia, Kosovo, Belgrade, Pristina, Banjska, Kosovo's, Serbian, NATO, Balkans, France, Germany, Italy

☆ A second war could easily erupt in Europe — while everyone's distracted by Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Violence erupted in northern Kosovo in September, and Belgrade responded with a military build-up on its border with its neighbor. Given the current political and security context, analysts say an outbreak of violence in northern Kosovo "should raise alarm bells." Open hostilityLong-simmering animosity between Serbia and Kosovo has broken into open hostility in northern Kosovo in recent months. Northern Kosovo, which borders Serbia, has an ethnic Serb majority whereas the country as a whole is around 93% ethnic Albanian. Mojsilovic stated that number of troops on the Kosovo border had been reduced to 4,500 from 8,350.

Persons: Milan Radoicic, Majda Ruge, Stringer, Milos Vucevic, Staff Milan Mojsilovic, Mojsilovic, Aleksandar Vučić, Vučić, Ian Bremmer, Bremmer, Ruge, Aleksandar Vucic, Krusha, Armend Nimani, Slobodan Milošević, Serbian, Albin Kurti, Andrius, Tursa, Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic Organizations: Kosovo Police, Kosovo Serb, Milan, Anadolu Agency, Getty, European Council, Foreign Relations, Albanian, Kosovo, Afp, NATO, Serbian, Staff, Financial Times, EU, Eurasia Group, Yugoslavia, Yugoslav, Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, Federal, Nato, Kosovo Albanians Locations: Banjska, Jarinje, Serbia, Zvecan, Kosovo, Ukraine, Europe, Belgrade, destabilising Kosovo, Northern Kosovo, Serbian, Serbs, Yugoslavia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russia, Mitrovica, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Balkans, Kosovo Albanian, Krusha, Madhe, Albanian, Yugoslav, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Central, Eastern Europe, Stagovo

☆ Russia's fake tanks in Ukraine aren't always convincing, a struggle another army faced trying to trick NATO jets decades ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Yugoslav forces in the Kosovo War faced similar struggles trying different tricks to fool NATO jets. The drone's operator seemed to notice the tanks were not real, zooming in on the puffy tanks in the video. AdvertisementAdvertisementNATO air forces prioritized an aerial bombing campaign called "Operation Allied Force" against Yugoslav troops, which lasted over two months. Outgunned by superior NATO airpower, Yugoslav forces took extra steps to try to make their fakes convincing. Even trays of water, also heated by sunlight, were placed inside the fake tanks to give the impression the tank was crewed, running, and operational.

Persons: —, Mitch Fuqua, Wesley K, Clark, they'd, It's Organizations: NATO, Service, Ukraine's 116th Mechanized Brigade, Ukrainian, Portuguese Air Force Detachment, Aviano Air Base, USAF, Federal, Kosovo Liberation Army, Serbian, Yugoslav, Allied Force, The New York Times, Defense Department, Times, RAND, US Air Force, Usaf, Getty, Government Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Yugoslav, Kosovo, Ukraine's, Russian, Italy, Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

☆ Serbia lowers number of troops near Kosovo, army chief of staff says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo police officers patrol, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, in Banjska village, Kosovo September 27, 2023. "Serbia had deployed 8,350 troops near (the border) ... with Kosovo, ... and reduced them to 4,500 at the moment," Mojsilovic said. He said the army presence in the so-called Ground Safety Zone, a 5 kilometre-wide (3-mile) strip inside Serbia along the Kosovo border, had "reverted to normal." Serbia has not "formally raised the level of readiness" of its 22,500-strong army, Mojsilovic said. Some 50,000 Serbs who live in northern Kosovo do not recognise Pristina's institutions and see Belgrade as their capital.

Persons: Ognen, General Milan Mojsilovic, Mojsilovic, Milan Radoicic, Ivana Sekularac, Aleksandar Vasovic, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, NATO, Kosovo police, Belgrade, Thomson Locations: Banjska village, Kosovo, Serbia, Belgrade, Pristina, Kosovo's, Banjska, Serbian, Albanian Kosovo, United States, Kosovo Serb

☆ Serbia Lowers Number of Troops Near Kosovo, Army Chief of Staff Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

"Serbia had deployed 8,350 troops near (the border) ... with Kosovo, ... and reduced them to 4,500 at the moment," Mojsilovic said. He said the army presence in the so-called Ground Safety Zone, a 5 kilometre-wide (3-mile) strip inside Serbia along the Kosovo border, had "reverted to normal." Serbia has not "formally raised the level of readiness" of its 22,500-strong army, Mojsilovic said. Some 50,000 Serbs who live in northern Kosovo do not recognise Pristina's institutions and see Belgrade as their capital. NATO, which still has 4,500 troops in Kosovo, said on Friday it had "authorised additional forces to address the current situation".

Persons: General Milan Mojsilovic, Mojsilovic, Milan Radoicic, Ivana Sekularac, Aleksandar Vasovic, Alex Richardson Organizations: BELGRADE, Reuters, NATO, Kosovo police, Belgrade Locations: Serbia, Kosovo, Belgrade, Pristina, Kosovo's, Banjska, Serbian, Albanian Kosovo, United States, Kosovo Serb

☆ Kosovo says Serbia's behaviour same as Russia's before Ukraine invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Serbia's troop deployment on Kosovo's border recalls Russia's behaviour towards Ukraine before its invasion, the Kosovar foreign minister said, urging the European Union to take action against Belgrade such as freezing its candidacy status. "There has never been this kind of concentration of troops in recent years," Kosovar Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk in an interview on Monday. She said it was not just the concentration of troops on the edge of its former southern province, whose independence Belgrade does not recognise, but also Serbia's rhetoric and its "methods" resembling Russian behaviour towards Ukraine. Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla uprising and 1999 NATO intervention, accuses Serbia of arming and supporting the Serb fighters. Reporting by Sarah Marsh; editing by Miranda Murray and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Donika Gervalla, Schwarz, Aleksandar Vucic, Sarah Marsh, Miranda Murray, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Union, Belgrade, NATO, Kosovar, Deutschlandfunk, EU, Serbs, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, States, Kosovo, Belgrade, Serbian, Serbia

☆ Serbian president says reports about troop build up on the Kosovo border ‘not fully accurate’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Sugam Pokharel Claire Calzonetti Duarte Mendonca Sana Noor Haq | Sugam Pokharel | Claire Calzonetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Soldiers with the NATO-led international peacekeeping force, the Kosovo Force, in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, in northern Kosovo, on September 28. A top Kosovo Serb politician, Milan Radoicic said this weekend that he took part in the gun battle, Reuters reported. The confrontation comes months after ethnic Serbs attacked dozens of NATO peacekeepers in the town of Zvecan, in northern Kosovo, in May. The violence has ratcheted tensions in the Balkan region as the EU and US mediators attempt to finalize yearslong talks to normalize ties between Serbia and Kosovo. Following his first-round victory against American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the [heart] of Serbia.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Vučić, “, ” Vučić, Stringer, Vjosa Osmani, Milan Radoicic, Radoicic, “ I’m, yearslong, Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, American Aleksandar Kovacevic Organizations: CNN, Serbian, NSC, National Security Council, NATO, ”, Kosovo Force, Getty, Kosovar, Kosovo Serb, Reuters, European, EU, American, “ Locations: Serbian, Kosovo, United States, Mitrovica, AFP, Serbia, Banjska, Belgrade, European Union, Brussels, Pristina, Zvecan, “ Kosovo

☆ An unusual military build-up in southern Europe sparked fears of another invasion like Russia's full-scale assault on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US warned last week that Serbia staged an "unprecedented" military build-up along its border. AdvertisementAdvertisementA massive build-up of military power in Serbia has officials in neighboring Kosovo drawing comparisons to what Russian forces were doing before Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On September 24, heavily armed Serb gunmen killed a Kosovar police officer and stormed a monestary in northern Kosovo, setting off a shootout that left several attackers dead. Meanwhile, on Friday, the US made public its observation of the Serbian military build-up along the border and expressed concerns over the situation. "We are monitoring a large Serbian military deployment along the border with Kosovo that includes an unprecedented staging of advanced Serbian artillery, tanks, and mechanized infantry units.

Persons: —, Biden, Donika Gervalla, Schwarz, Deutschlandfunk, Ukraine —, Vladimir Putin, STRINGER, Jens Stoltenberg, John Kirby, Albin Kurti Organizations: US, Russia, Service, Reuters, Yugoslavia, NATO, Kosovo, Intervention, Serbian, AP, Kosovo Force, KFOR, UK, Getty, Belgrade, National Security Locations: Serbia, Kosovo, Kosovo's, Ukraine, Serbian, Russia, Belgrade, Pristina, Mitrovica, EU, Kosova

☆ The US is warning of a big build-up of Serbian troops on the Kosovo border. Here’s why tensions are high
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The long fractious ties between Kosovo and Serbia are once again on edge after one of the worst outbreaks of violence in years. Ognen Teofilovski/ReutersMore than 20 years on, fragile peace has been preserved in Kosovo, while Serbia continues not to recognize Kosovo’s independence. During the subsequent shootout in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, police said they killed three armed attackers and arrested another. Visar Kryeziu/APIn another development, a top Kosovo Serb politician, Milan Radoicic said he took part in the gun battle, Reuters reported. The White House has warned that the incident represents a threat to the safety of not only Kosovo personnel, but international personnel including NATO troops.

Persons: Ognen Teofilovski, What’s, Albin Kurti, ”, Vjosa Osmani, Aleksandar Vucic, Vucic, “, Visar, Milan Radoicic, Radoicic, John Kirby, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: CNN, Kosovar, Federal, NATO, Sunday, Facebook, Kosovo, Reuters, Kosovo police, AP, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo Police, National Security Locations: Kosovo, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Serbian, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Montenegro, Banjska, Belgrade, Pristina, Serbs, Zvecan

☆ Kosovo Demands Serbia Withdraw Troops From Border
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo on Saturday demanded that Serbia withdraw its troops from their common border, saying it was ready to protect its territorial integrity. "We call on President Vucic and the institutions of Serbia to immediately withdraw all troops from the border with Kosovo," the Kosovo government said in a statement. "The deployment of Serbian troops along the border with Kosovo is the next step by Serbia to threaten the territorial integrity of our country." On Friday the United States said it was monitoring a troubling Serbian military deployment along the Kosovo border that is destabilizing the area. "Kosovo, in coordination with international partners, is more determined than ever to protect its territorial integrity," the Pristina government said.

Persons: Vucic, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Giles Elgood Organizations: Saturday, Kosovo police, Financial Times, European Union, USA, NATO Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbia, Banjska, Serbian, NATO, States, Pristina, Republic of Kosovo

☆ Kosovo demands Serbia withdraw troops from border
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Kosovo police officers patrol, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, in Banjska village, Kosovo September 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPRISTINA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Kosovo on Saturday demanded that Serbia withdraw its troops from their common border, saying it was ready to protect its territorial integrity. "We call on President Vucic and the institutions of Serbia to immediately withdraw all troops from the border with Kosovo," the Kosovo government said in a statement. "The deployment of Serbian troops along the border with Kosovo is the next step by Serbia to threaten the territorial integrity of our country." On Friday the United States said it was monitoring a troubling Serbian military deployment along the Kosovo border that is destabilizing the area.

Persons: Ognen, Vucic, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Giles Elgood Organizations: Kosovo, REUTERS, Rights, Saturday, Kosovo police, Financial Times, European Union, USA, NATO, Thomson Locations: Banjska village, Kosovo, Rights PRISTINA, Serbia, Banjska, Serbian, NATO, States, Pristina, Republic of Kosovo

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