Serbia again threatens armed intervention in Kosovo as tension escalates

by Cristian Florescu

Serbia restated its concern on Friday about the situation in its former province of Kosovo and expressed the hope that NATO-led peacekeepers would take necessary actions to safeguard minority Serbs. Belgrade emphasized the importance of protecting them from what it perceives as a terrorist threat posed by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian authorities

During a concise televised statement, the Serbian army chief-of-staff, Gen. Milan Mojsilovic, expressed concerns about the ongoing struggle faced by Kosovo Serbs and their inability to endure the distress caused by the Kosovo government. Additionally, he mentioned that the Serbian military is prepared to carry out its duties in accordance with the Serbian constitution and any directives issued by President Aleksandar Vucic.

Serbia has taken the measure of placing its troops on the border with Kosovo on the highest state of alert due to a series of recent clashes between Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo police, and NATO-led peacekeepers, known as KFOR. In response to these developments, NATO has also deployed additional forces in order to prevent any potential escalation between ethnic Albanians and Serbs.

If Serbia were to engage in armed intervention in Kosovo, it would potentially lead to a confrontation with around 4,000 NATO troops who are presently deployed in the region.

Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have had ongoing disagreements for many years. Unfortunately, the war that took place in 1998-99 resulted in the tragic loss of over 10,000 lives, predominantly Kosovo Albanians. It is worth mentioning that Belgrade has chosen not to acknowledge Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008.

Tensions escalated once again last month when Kosovo police took control of local municipality buildings in northern Kosovo, where Serbs make up the majority. This was done to appoint ethnic Albanian mayors who had been elected in a local election that Serbs largely chose not to participate in.

The recent incident involved the Kosovo police apprehending a group of Serbs who are believed to have been involved in the recent violent clashes with NATO troops and Kosovo police, resulting in numerous injuries.

During his brief address to the nation on Friday, the Serbian army chief-of-staff expressed that Kosovo Serbs are finding it increasingly difficult to bear the distress caused by the regime of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Mojsilovic politely stated that, based on the facts, he has brought it to the attention of the commander of KFOR that they kindly request immediate measures be taken to ensure the safety of the Serbian people. He emphasized that this is their humble plea to KFOR and other international organizations.

During their meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo were unable to achieve any significant progress in the emergency talks hosted by the EU. These discussions were held due to concerns about a potential resumption of open conflict.

EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed concern about the escalating ethnic tensions in northern Kosovo.

He mentioned on Twitter on Friday that despite the crisis meeting held yesterday, the escalation is persisting and becoming increasingly perilous. We kindly request that it be stopped.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed his commitment on Thursday to ensure the impartiality of the alliance’s peacekeepers and their increased presence in Kosovo, with the aim of safeguarding the environment and freedom of movement for all communities.

Both Serbia and Kosovo are currently pursuing EU membership and it is necessary for them to normalize their relations in order to achieve this goal.

There are concerns that Serbia’s ally, Russia, might potentially incite another armed conflict in central Europe as a means to divert some of the international attention away from Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine.

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