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BELGRADE, April 7 (Reuters) - Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday that ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo will not participate in local elections due to be held later this month - a move likely to aggravate current disagreements over Pristina's rule. The elections for municipal bodies were postponed in December 2022 after Serbs blocked roads and border crossings. Representatives of Serbs from northern Kosovo, including the Belgrade-backed Serbian List party, want to see an association of Kosovo Serb municipalities set up before they take part in the vote. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has repeatedly called on Serbs to participate in the local vote. Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade and Fatos Bytyci in Kosovo; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A special Kosovo court set up in The Hague indicted Thaci in November 2020 on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder, torture and enforced disappearance of people among other things during the uprising. Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly afterward and was transferred to detention in The Hague. As the fighting abated and Serbian forces withdrew under NATO bombardment from Kosovo, Thaci traded in his green uniform for a blue suit and tie. Milosevic went on trial before a separate U.N. tribunal in The Hague for war crimes against Kosovo Albanians in the conflict, but he died in 2006 before a verdict was reached. Some senior Serbian officials including then-army chief Nebojsa Pavkovic and deputy prime minister Nikola Sainovic were sentenced to long prison terms over war crimes in Kosovo.

☆ EU hopeful that Kosovo and Serbia will reach deal this month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRISTINA, March 9 (Reuters) - The European Union expects former wartime foes Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final deal next week on normalising relations after both endorsed a peace plan, the bloc's envoy said on Thursday. The nations' leaders are due to meet on March 18 in North Macedonia to discuss implementation of an 11-point EU plan after agreeing last month that its contents needed no further talks. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising brought an end to repressive Serbian rule. The EU plan does not commit Serbia to acknowledging an independent Kosovo but it would recognise documents such as passports, diplomas and licence plates. He was to travel next to Serbia for talks with President Aleksandar Vucic.

"International companies that were supposed to arrive for the first time in Kosovo told us that they were delaying opening shops due to the unstable situation," Fatmir Zymberi told Reuters. The main, longstanding fount of tensions is the refusal of 50,000 ethnic Serbs in north Kosovo to recognise the government in Pristina or Kosovo as a separate country. The area of north Kosovo where ethnic Serbs form a majority looks in some respects like an extension of Serbia. The Kremlin denied influencing Serbia to stir up conflict, saying Belgrade was just defending the rights of Kosovo Serbs. "I am more worried than I have been in many years about the risk of conflict in north Kosovo that could then spill into reprisal attacks on Serbs in south Kosovo.

☆ Explainer: Why Kosovo's stand-off with Serbs goes on 15 years after statehood
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Serbs in north Kosovo vent their rejectionism by refusing to pay the state utility for energy they use and often attacking police who try to make arrests. North Kosovo Serbs on Dec. 10 erected multiple roadblocks and exchanged fire with police after a former Serb policeman was arrested for allegedly assaulting serving police officers during a previous protest. But with nationalist hardliners powerful on both sides, not least among north Kosovo Serbs, no breakthrough is on the horizon. The area of north Kosovo where Serbs form a majority is in important ways a virtual extension of Serbia. Local Serbs fear that once fully integrated within Kosovo they could lose benefits such as Serbia's free public healthcare and be forced onto Kosovo's private healthcare system.

☆ Serbia's Vucic urges Serbs in Kosovo to remove barricades - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia and Serbs in north Kosovo have refused to recognise that and their licence plates are still being issued by Serbia. Serbs in north Kosovo have erected barricades and blocked roads for about three weeks following the arrest of former police officer Dejan Pantic by Kosovo police. Vucic has called on Serbs in the north to remove barricades, Petkovic added. Vucic and Kosovo Serb representatives will meet Wednesday evening near the Kosovo border and announce if the barricades will be removed, Petkovic said. Earlier on Wednesday, the United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint by both sides in the standoff.

☆ U.S., EU, NATO urge restraint as Serbia-Kosovo border crossings close, dispute escalates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Locals walk near a roadblock in the northern part of the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, December 28, 2022. Dejan Pantic was arrested on Dec. 10 for assaulting a serving police officer, since when Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged fire with police and erected more than 10 roadblocks, demanding his release. Serbs in northern Kosovo, which they believe to be still part of Serbia, resist any moves they see as anti-Serb. Around 50,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo refuse to recognise the government in Pristina or the status of Kosovo as a separate country. Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence with the backing of the West, following a 1998-99 war in which NATO intervened to protect ethnic Albanian citizens.

☆ Kosovo asks NATO to airlift a Serb detainee as tensions rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dejan Pantic was arrested on Dec. 10 for allegedly assaulting serving police officers during a previous protest. Tensions have been running high since then as thousands of Kosovo Serbs protest demanding the country's Albanian-majority government pulls its police force out of the north, where the Serb minority is concentrated. Local Serbs, who number around 50,000 in northern Kosovo, reiterated at a protest on Thursday that they would not remove the roadblocks unless Pantic is released. The NATO force, which has more than 3,000 troops on the ground, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Svecla said his police force could remove the barricades but that he wanted local Serbs or NATO troops to remove them.

☆ 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.

☆ Serbia's president says Belgrade seeks to deescalate situation in Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Serbia demands the release of all arrested Serbs from northern Kosovo, but also seeks to defuse tensions there following tensions in the restive region, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday. After a meeting of the National Security Council, Vucic said Kosovo Serbs must not engage in violence against NATO troops and members of the European Union mission there. Asked whether Belgrade would seek to de-escalate the situation in northern Kosovo, he replied: "Absolutely." Serb protesters in northern Kosovo blocked main roads on Saturday after the arrest of a former Serb policeman. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, following the 1998-99 war in which NATO intervened to protect Albanian majority Kosovo.

☆ Serbs in Kosovo block roads, clash with police as ethnic tensions worsen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In recent weeks Serbs in northern Kosovo, a hotbed of Serb nationalism, have met attempts by Pristina which they see as anti-Serb with violent resistance. Barricades must be removed immediately by groups of Kosovo Serbs. For a second day on Sunday, trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles blocked several main roads in northern Kosovo that lead to two border crossings with Serbia. After Saturday's incidents, Goran Rakic, the head of the Serbian List party, which is supported by Belgrade, called on Serbs in northern Kosovo to show restraint and cooperate with NATO peacekeepers and EULEX. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the backing of the West, following a 1998-1999 war in which NATO intervened to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo.

☆ Kosovo police exchange fire with local Serbs blocking roads
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Kosovo Serbs block the road near the village of Rudine, North Mitrovica, Kosovo December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiMITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo Serbs and country’s police exchanged gunfire on Saturday after a flareup of tensions in the volatile northern part of the country. Earlier in the day Serbs from Kosovo's north blocked main roads in the region to protest against the arrest of a former member of the Kosovo police who quit his post last month along with other ethnic Serbs. With a crisis mounting in the majority Serb north, Kosovo's president Vjosa Osmani on Saturday announced that local elections in that area would be delayed until April 23. "Serbia has instructed its illegal structures to set up barricades in the north Kosovo.

☆ Kosovo delays fining Serb drivers for 2 days after U.S. request
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Around 50,000 ethnic Serbs who live in Kosovo refuse to recognise Pristina's authority, and still consider themselves a part of Serbia. Belgrade has said it will never recognise Kosovo's independence. Hundreds of police officers, judges, prosecutors and other state workers from the Serb minority quit their jobs this month after Pristina ruled that local Serbs must finally replace car plates issued by Kosovo Serb municipal authorities, loyal to Belgrade, with Kosovo state ones. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who chaired the talks, blamed mainly Kosovo for rejecting an EU proposal on how to resolve the dispute. NATO, which has around 3,700 peacekeepers in Kosovo, said it was ready to intervene should the security situation be threatened.

☆ Serb policemen quit jobs in anti-Kosovo protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NORTH MITROVICA, Kosovo, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Kosovo Serb policemen who work in the Jarinje and Brnjak border posts in the north of the country resigned on Sunday in protest over Pristina's order to use Kosovo vehicle licence plates instead of those issued by Serbia. In North Mitrovica, several thousand Serbs gathered at noon to protest against obligatory Kosovo licence plates. Kosovo police said in a statement it was aware Serb police officers had abandoned their posts and some have handed over police equipment. Prime Minister Albin Kurti blamed Belgrade for seeking to destabilise Kosovo by supporting the Serbs in their boycott of state institutions. "The withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from Kosovo institutions is not a solution to the current disputes.

☆ North Kosovo Serbs quit state jobs in licence plate protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MITROVICA, Kosovo, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Minority Serbs in the north of Kosovo said on Saturday they were quitting their posts in state institutions including the government, police and courts to protest Pristina's order for them to start using Kosovo vehicle licence plates. The long-running licence plate row has stoked tensions between Serbia and its former province of Kosovo, which gained independence in 2008 and is home to a small ethnic Serb minority in the north that is backed by Belgrade. Blerim Vela, chief-of-staff to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, accused Belgrade of seeking to destabilise Kosovo by backing Serbs in the north. "Serbia is coercing and inciting Kosovo Serbs to abandon their jobs in Kosovo institutions," Vela tweeted. Another roughly 40,000 ethnic Serbs, who live in parts of Kosovo that are majority ethnic Albanian, use licence plates issued by Pristina.

☆ NATO brings reserve troops to Kosovo for training amid fears of unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo Sept 21 (Reuters) - NATO has brought in reserve troops assigned to its KFOR peacekeeping mission to Kosovo for training, one of the mission commanders said, as a deadline approaches in a spat between the Serbian minority and the government that may spark fresh unrest. KFOR's regional commander east, Colonel Christopher Samulski, told reporters the reserves had been brought in "as part of normal contingency planning." The U.S. officer did not give any concrete figures of how many reserve troops have arrived in Kosovo but spoke of a "battalion-size" unit. Samulski emphasized that the reserve troops had been brought in for training. Beyond this, Samulski said KFOR could also draw on reserves outside Kosovo.

☆ NATO ready to send more troops to Kosovo in case of fresh unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Unrest among Kosovo Serbs over a requirement for them to use state-issued car number plates has raised fears of conflict between Kosovo and Serbia, more than two decades after NATO bombed Serbia to end repression of Kosovo's Albanian majority. Around 3,700 NATO peacekeepers are still stationed in the former Serbian province to prevent violence between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Earlier attempts to introduce Kosovo licence plates in heavily Serb northern Kosovo led to clashes between police and local Serbs, who erected roadblocks. The barricades were only dismantled when NATO peacekeepers stepped in to oversee the process and Kosovo agreed to postpone the licensing rule. "We have sufficient forces to deal with the situation...With that amount of troops we can end any kind of increase of tensions," Piperni added, referring to troops outside Kosovo that NATO could draw as reinforcements.

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