MITROVICA (Reuters) – Tensions have escalated on Kosovo’s border with Serbia over a dispute over Serbian car number plates and entry documents.
Late on Sunday, demonstrators blocked trucks loaded with gravel on the access roads to the two border crossings, Jarinje and Bernjak. According to the police, the border crossings had to be closed for security reasons. Shots were also “fired in the direction of the police units, but fortunately nobody was injured”. Air raid sirens could be heard for more than three hours in the mainly Serb town of Mitrovica. The government in Belgrade flew fighter jets near the border.
The background to the escalation is the regulation for changing Serbian car license plates to Kosovo plates. The attempt failed a year earlier due to similar protests. In addition, as of August 1, all Serbian citizens are to present an additional document upon entry. A similar rule is applied by the Belgrade authorities to Kosovars visiting Serbia. However, after tensions on Sunday evening and consultations with the ambassadors of the European Union and the US, the government said it would postpone its plan by a month and start implementing it on September 1.
The fragile peace in Kosovo is maintained by a NATO mission with 3,770 soldiers on the ground. Italian peacekeepers were seen in and around Mitrovica on Sunday.