Escalation in Serbia, Kosovo and Metohija

\Escalation in Serbia, Kosovo and Metohija The situation at the end of December 14, 2022 In the north of Kosovo and Metohija, there are still barricades erected by the Serbs (https://t.me/rybar/41917) in protest against the terror of the Pristina authorities. Despite the low air temperature and snowfall, local residents take turns on duty at the collection points and are not going to leave them. ▪️ The Yarinje and Brnjak checkpoints on the administrative line, previously closed by the Kosovo police, are still not functioning. They did not resume traffic.

▪️ A lot of people remain in the tent city created in the Rudare area. New barricades also appeared in the vicinity of Zubin Potok and Leposavich. ▪️ In the cities of the northern municipalities of Kosovo, primary and secondary schools have been closed for the third day. Restaurants and cafes do not work, Kosovo police patrols are on duty in the settlements. ▪️ Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed republic Albin Kurti met with EU Special Envoy for Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar in Pristina. It made a unanimous decision to dismantle the barricades of the Kosovo Serbs, but the possible timing of the dispersal of the protests was not announced. ▪️ The leadership of Serbia, in turn, will send an official request tomorrow (https://t.me/rtbalkan_ru/817) to the NATO peacekeeping forces (KFOR) with a demand to deploy up to a thousand Serbian security forces in the region. ❗️ According to local sources, the demand will be accompanied (https://t.me/balkanossiper/5230) by documentary evidence that over the two decades of the presence of international missions in Kosovo and Metohija, the situation with respect for the rights of Kosovo Serbs has deteriorated sharply, and many populated points were cleared of them. However, the US special envoy to the Western Balkans has already stated that Washington categorically rejects the idea of returning Serbian peacekeeping forces to the north of the region. ▪️ In the main Serbian municipality in the north of Kosovo today there was a violent seizure of power (https://t.me/rtbalkan_ru/841) by the Albanians. During the meeting of the city council, the newly elected deputies from among the Albanians and Bosniaks took the oath, and it was headed by Nejat Ugljanin, a representative of the Bosniak community in Mitrovica. ❗️ This is a gross violation of the rights (https://t.me/rybar/42011) of the Serbian population of Kosovo and Metohija. According to the established legislation, the majority of seats in government bodies in the north of the self-proclaimed republic should be occupied by ethnic Serbs. 🔻 According to the commander of the German KFOR contingent, despite the relatively calm situation on the barricades, there is a constant risk that the security situation may worsen in the near future. And the illegal action to seize power in North Mitrovica can become the very factor that will lead to an escalation of the conflict and another outbreak of violence.

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