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☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ NATO says it has authorized additional forces for Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Swiss pilot member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) walks at NATOÕs headquarters in Pristina, Kosovo, June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - NATO has authorized additional forces for Kosovo, the military alliance said on Friday, following the worst violence in northern Kosovo in years. NATO said in a statement that it had "authorized additional forces to address the current situation" but did not immediately specify how many or from which countries. 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. Serbia, which has not recognised its former province's independence, blames Kosovo for precipitating violence by mistreating ethnic Serb residents.

Persons: Fatos, Wales's, Andrew Gray, Charlotte Van Campenhout, James Davey, Alex Richardson, Grant McCool Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, KFOR, REUTERS, Rights, Britain's Ministry of Defence, 1st Battalion, Wales's Royal Regiment, NATO’s Kosovo Force, Thomson Locations: Swiss, Pristina, Kosovo, Rights BRUSSELS, Serbia, London

☆ Britain to provide NATO with troops for Kosovo support
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's Ministry of Defence has transferred command of an army battalion to NATO so it can provide support in Kosovo if required, it said on Friday. A battle between police and armed Serbs holed up in a monastery turned a quiet village in northern Kosovo into a war zone earlier this week. “Due to the current situation in Kosovo, we have transferred command of the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment – a reserve force for NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) – to NATO so it can provide support if required," the MoD said in a statement. Reporting by James DaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wales's, James Davey Organizations: Britain's Ministry of Defence, NATO, 1st Battalion, Wales's Royal Regiment, NATO’s Kosovo Force, KFOR, –, MoD, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, NATO

☆ The West’s ‘see no evil’ approach to Serbia’s Vucic is destabilizing the Balkans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

The result is that, despite Serbia’s professed hopes to join the EU, Vucic has continued to walk a tightrope between Moscow and western powers. A Pristina government official told CNN that they did not want to “surrender” official government buildings to protesters. A decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes to fester over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. After such episodes, Joseph told CNN that the “see no evil” approach to Vucic’s regime may be starting to crack. “The situation is clear who the bully of the Balkans still is,” Meliza Haradinaj, Kosovo’s former foreign minister, told CNN.

Persons: Moscow’s, Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Mihailescu, ” Jasmin Mujanovic, Vucic, “, Mujanovic, Alicia Kearns, ”, –, Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Albin Kurti, Serbia’s, you’ll, Kearns, wouldn’t, Putin, Viktor, Orban, ” Majda, you’re, Quint, ” Kurti, Kurti, Edward Joseph, Laura Hasani, He’s, Shqiprim Arifi, Arifi, Ben Kilb, ” Dusan, Milorad Dodik, Oliver Bunic, Boris Grdanoski, ” Joseph, Viktor Oban, Joseph, Biden, Aleksandar Vulin, ” “ He’s, ‘ we’re, ’ He’s, I’ve, ” Vucic, Meliza Organizations: CNN, European Union, Putin, Belgrade, Getty, Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, NATO, National Security, United Nations, Kosovo's, EU, Anadolu Agency, Gazprom, Serbian, European Council, Foreign Relations, ”, US, Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo’s, Johns Hopkins University, …, Kosovo Serb, Reuters, British, Kosovo, Kosovar Business Alliance, Kosovar, Serbs, “ Association of, Bloomberg, ASM, Russian, AP, Serbia ”, KFOR, NATO’s Kosovo Force, Red Star, Red Star Belgrade soccer Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Serbia, Europe, Belgrade, West, Kosovo, Kosovo’s, Kosovar, AFP, Russian, Balkan, Western Balkans, British, United, EU, Brussels, Belgium, Moscow, ” Kosovo, Serbs, France, Germany, Italy, Balkans, Pristina, … Serbia, Zvecan, Serbian, Presevo, Albanian, Leposavic, Republika Srpska, ” Republika Srpska, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dayton, Banja Luka, Kurti, Ohrid, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, appeasing Serbia

[1/2] An Italian member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) looks on while standing guard in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiBULBOACA, Moldova, June 1 (Reuters) - The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo insisted on Thursday they want to defuse a violent crisis in northern Kosovo but showed little sign of backing down from their opposing positions. Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. But he said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally. Vucic said he did not even know who was coming to the summit from Kosovo.

Persons: Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Vjosa Osmani, Osmani, Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Macron, Scholz, Jens Stoltenberg, Andrew Gray, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold, John Irish, Daria Sito, Edmund Blair Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, REUTERS, Kosovo, European, Political, Thomson Locations: Italian, Leposavic, Kosovo, BULBOACA, Moldova, Serbia, Belgrade, Moldovan, European Union, United States, Oslo

☆ NATO ready to deploy even more troops to quell unrest in Kosovo - Stoltenberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Italian members of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) stand guard behind wire fencing, in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiOSLO, June 1 (Reuters) - NATO is prepared to deploy more troops to Kosovo to quell violence in the ethnically polarized north, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, adding that the first 700 reinforcement troops are on the way there. NATO decided to boost its 4,000-strong mission in the region with 700 additional troops after 30 of its KFOR peacekeepers and 52 ethnic Serb protesters were hurt on Monday. Stoltenberg called the violence against NATO troops "totally unacceptable" and said allies were readying more troops in case NATO needed to send additional reinforcements to the region. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Bart MeijerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Sabine Siebold, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Bart Meijer Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, KFOR, REUTERS, U.S, Thomson Locations: Leposavic, Kosovo, Ognen, OSLO, Oslo, Kosovo's, Serbs, Pristina, Belgrade, EU

☆ NATO-led troops guard town hall in northern Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] U.S. Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers, under NATO, stand guard near a municipal office in Leposavic, Kosovo May 31, 2023. Following clashes on Monday in Zvecan, another northern town, during which 30 NATO troops and 52 ethnic Serbian protesters were hurt, NATO said it would send 700 more troops to Kosovo to boost its 4,000-strong mission. Those ethnic Albanian mayors were then installed last week, a decision that spurred rebuke of Pristina by the U.S. and its allies on Friday. The ethnic Albanian mayor of Leposavic, another northern Kosovo town, remained in the municipal building on Wednesday after entering it amid Serb demonstrations on Monday. Peacekeeping troops were deployed in Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombing drove Serbia's police and army out of its former province.

Persons: couldn't, Dragan, –, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, Jeton Hadergjonaj, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytici, Ivana Sekularac, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Kosovo Force, KFOR, NATO, REUTERS, Serbian, U.S, Reuters, United, Wednesday, Belgrade, Kosovo Olympic, International Olympic Committee, Kosovo Albanian, Thomson Locations: U.S, Leposavic, Kosovo, LEPOSAVIC, Zvecan, Serbian, Pristina, KOSOVO, United States, Serbia, Bratislava, Northern, Belgrade, EU

CNN —Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti told CNN on Tuesday that he would not surrender the country to what he described as a Serbian “fascist militia,” following violent protests in its north over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors in a disputed election. “We are not facing peaceful protesters, we are facing a mob of extremists,” Kurti told CNN. Disputed electionsMonday’s violence erupted after tensions bubbled for months in northern Kosovo over controversial local elections. More than a decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo’s Serbs to fester. “Kosovo is a success story of NATO intervention – that is what bothers both Belgrade and the Kremlin,” Kurti told CNN.

Persons: CNN —, Albin Kurti, ” Kurti, –, Valdrin Xhemaj, Antony Blinken, Kurti, ” Blinken, Emmanuel Macron, ” Macron, CNN’s Isa Soares, Kosovo’s, Aleksandar Vucic, “, Meliza, Quint, ” Haradinaj, Laura Hasani, Slobodan, Milosevic, ”, Putin, Vucic, ” Bosko Jaksic, we’ve Organizations: CNN, CNN — Kosovo’s, NATO, Serbian, NATO’s Kosovo Force, KFOR, Reuters, “, US, Kosovo, Kosovar, Albanian, European Union, Serbs, Kremlin Locations: Serbian, Zvecan, NATO’s, Albanian, United States, Kosovo, Slovakia, Pristina, Kosovo’s, Belgrade, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Reuters Kosovo, Brussels, Serbia, fester, Yugoslavia, Montenegro, “ Kosovo, Ukraine, ”, He’s

☆ Factbox: Key facts on Kosovo, independent for 15 years from Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here are key facts about the small western Balkan republic:POPULATION: Around 1.8 million, according to the most recent census in 2011, which local Serbs boycotted. HISTORY & PEOPLE: Kosovo became part of the Kingdom of Serbia in the early 13th century, with a mixed population of ethnic Albanians, Serbs and Vlachs. Mutual expulsions and migrations to and from neighbouring Albania in the early 20th century changed Kosovo's ethnic makeup. He accused Kosovo Albanians of persecuting local Serbs and restricted their rights in education and local government. It backs nationalist minority Serbs in north Kosovo boycotting the state, creating a de facto partition.

☆ Kosovo tensions: Why did ethnic Serbs attack NATO peacekeepers?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured after they were attacked by ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, during protests over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors. More than a decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo’s Serbs to fester. Valdrin Xhemaj/ReutersFearing potential violence, Kosovo’s central election commission changed plans to put voting booths in local schools, instead setting up mobile huts patrolled by NATO peacekeepers. Of these, more than 16,000 are ethnic Serbs – with only around 500 ethnic Albanians. The peacekeeping mission said that it had increased its presence in northern Kosovo after the newly elected ethnically Albanian mayors took office in majority Kosovo Serb areas.

CNN —Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic left a political message on a TV camera lens at the French Open on Monday in response to violent clashes in Kosovo. Following his first-round victory against American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the [heart] of Serbia. Stop the violence” in Serbian on a camera lens, using a heart symbol. I don’t know what will happen.”Djokovic leaves his message on the camera lens after his first-round victory at Roland-Garros. Djokovic is aiming to win his 23rd grand slam title at the French Open, which would move him clear of Rafael Nadal at the top of the men’s all-time list.

Tensions have risen in the past week after ethnically Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo, a majority Kosovo Serb area, following April elections that Kosovo Serbs had boycotted. NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) said the recent developments prompted them to increase their presence in northern Kosovo on Monday morning, which they later said turned violent. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathy for the Italian KFOR soldiers injured in the clashes, adding in a statement, “What is happening is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible. But Serbia still considers Kosovo to be an integral part of its territory as do the Serbs living in northern Kosovo. NATO has troops stationed in Kosovo to maintain peace, with tensions often flaring between Serbia and Kosovo.

☆ Serbian president to meet U.S., Russia, China, EU ambassadors after clashes erupt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers clash with local Kosovo Serb protesters at the entrance of the municipality office, in the town of Zvecan, Kosovo, May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Laura HasaniMay 30 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet on Tuesday with the ambassadors of the United States, Russia, China, Britain and the head of the European Union mission, the president's office said late on Monday, after new clashes erupted in northern Kosovo. Afterwards, he will conduct separate meetings with the ambassadors of Finland, Russia and China. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell late on Monday condemned the clashes, calling the violence against NATO peacekeepers "absolutely unacceptable" and urging immediate dialogue. "The EU urges Kosovo authorities and the protesters to immediately and unconditionally de-escalate the situation,” Borrell said on Twitter.

☆ Kosovo calls for NATO intervention after weekend of violence amid rising ethnic tensions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Niamh Kennedy Cnn Reuters | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Kosovo’s Prime Minister urged NATO peacekeeping troops to intervene after minority Serb protesters blocked roads and unknown gunmen exchanged fire with police over the weekend amid rising ethnic tensions in the country’s restive north. In recent weeks, minority Serbs in northern Kosovo have responded with violent resistance to moves by Pristina that they see as anti-Serb. On Sunday, Vucic said Serbia demanded the release of all arrested Serbs from northern Kosovo, but also seeks to defuse tensions in the region. Vucic accused authorities in Pristina and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Kurti of stoking tensions by making “countless unilateral moves.”“Whenever one would think we have something solved, another problem emerges,” Vucic said. “Kosovo police has nothing to do in the north…especially people armed…up to their teeth,” Vucic said.

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