Kosovo government postpones number plate plan following Serb protests

Albin Kurti Germany Russia Ukraine Serbia Albania Kosovo county Forest city Moscow, Russia city Pristina Forest fires

01.08.2022 - 11:31

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euronews.com:

The Kosovo government has delayed a decision to oblige Serbs living in the country's northern municipalities to apply for Pristina-issued number plates following a set of fresh tensions between local communities and law enforcement officials.

Late on Sunday evening, protesters parked trucks filled with gravel and other heavy machinery on roads leading to the two border crossings, Jarinje and Bernjak, in a territory where Serbs form a majority. Kosovo police said they had to close the border crossings.

Police also reported shots being fired in their direction earlier on in the day, but without any injuries. Protesters are also believed to have attacked several Albanians and cars passing on the roads that had been blocked.

Air raid sirens were heard for more than three hours in the small town of North Mitrovica inhabited mainly by Serbs.

Approximately 50,000 Serbs living in the north still use number plates and documents issued by Serbian authorities, despite Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008. The nation is recognised as an independent state by more than 100 countries, but not by Serbia or Russia.

"The overall security situation in the Northern municipalities of Kosovo is tense," NATO-led mission to Kosovo KFOR said in a statement. It further stated that it would be "prepared to intervene" if the instability were to grow worse.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed the heightened tension on what she called "groundless discriminatory rules" imposed by Kosovo authorities.

As a result of such rising tensions, the Kosovo government - led by prime minister Albin Kurti - said it would grant Serbs a 60-day transitional period to get Kosovo number plates, a year after giving up