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Another level of escalation reached: Serbia orders maximum combat readiness against Kosovo. Serbia is increasing troops on the border with Kosovo
Serbian army chief Milan Mojsilovic visited the border area with Kosovo on Sunday. He then said that President Aleksandar Vucic had ordered the highest level of combat readiness. The complicated situation requires that the army be mobilized along the so-called administrative line. That’s what the border with Kosovo is called in Serbia.
The former Serbian province of Kosovo, which is majority Albanian, declared its independence from Serbia more than a decade ago. However, Serbia still regards it as a breakaway territory. The Serbian government is encouraging the Serb minority in Kosovo to defy the authority of the Albanian-influenced administration.
5000 Serbian soldiers at the administrative line
In the Serbian capital, Belgrade, it is said that this Serbian minority in Kosovo is being systematically disadvantaged. It is unclear how this highest combat readiness will affect the terrain. Serbian troops are already heavily mobilized on the border with Kosovo. Their number is now apparently to be tripled to 5,000 soldiers. In recent months, the saber-rattling has become louder, also in the context of the Ukraine war.
Legend:
Tensions mount: Kosovo Serbs marked their allegiance with a giant flag in Mitrovica.
Keystone/AP Photo Bojan Slavkovic
Serbia is supported by Russia. In the villages inhabited by Serbs, Kosovo Serbs have been erecting street barricades since mid-December. Shots fired at police officers in the night and a stun grenade attacked forces from the European Union Mission in Kosovo have heightened international concern. Both sides blame each other for the escalation. NATO is leading the international troops of the so-called KFOR in Kosovo. She urges calm, but in vain.