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Kosovo shuts down 5 Serbian governing structures in the north and US reacts with alarm

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo authorities on Friday closed five parallel institutions working with the ethnic Serb minority, a move that was immediately criticized by the United States and could further raise tensions with neighboring Serbia. Elbert Krasniqi, Kosovo’s minister of local administration, confirmed the closure of five so-called parallel institutions in the north — where most of the ethnic Serb …

PRISTINA, Kosovo — The European Union reprimanded Kosovo Tuesday over the unilateral closure of six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank, saying the move would negatively impact the life of the ethnic Serb minority living in northern Kosovo and damage Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks. The British embassy in Pristina also warned that the move would “risk escalating tensions and making a long-term …

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo authorities on Wednesday said they would impose the use of the country’s currency, the euro, and abolish the use of neighboring Serbia’s dinar in the north where most of the ethnic Serb minority lives. Kosovo’s Central Bank Governor Ahmet Ismaili said starting Thursday, new rules on local transactions in euros would be applied in the northern …

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo on Monday observed a day of mourning for the Kosovar Albanian police officer killed by Serb gunmen in the north of the country in one of the worst confrontations since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Pristina accuses Belgrade of backing the “terrorists,” an accusation Serbia denies, saying they are Serbs from Kosovo protesting the …

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia still formally deems Kosovo to be part of its territory. Unrest in the region intensified when ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo’s Serb-majority area after April elections the Serbs boycotted, a move that led the United States and its allies to rebuke Pristina. Last December, Serbs in north Kosovo erected multiple …

North

ZVECAN, Kosovo — International efforts to defuse a crisis in Kosovo intensified Wednesday as ethnic Serbs held more protests in a northern town where recent clashes with NATO-led peacekeepers sparked fears of renewed conflict in the troubled region. Hundreds of Serbs repeated at a rally their demand for the withdrawal from northern Kosovo of the special police and ethnic Albanian …

An additional 700 NATO troops will be sent to northern Kosovo to help quell violent protests after clashes with ethnic Serbs there left 30 international soldiers wounded. Key points: The announcement comes a day after 30 NATO soldiers were hurt in clashes Unrest has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo's Serb-majority area Mr Stoltenberg condemned the …

Tensions in north Kosovo – whose agenda does the flare-up serve?

Ethnic fractures in the Western Balkans, including in Kosovo’s Serb-populated area, create trouble for the EU and US. “I am sure that the President of Serbia will keep in mind as he considers what sort of military steps – as unwise as they would be – he may be contemplating in northern Kosovo.” KFOR peacekeepers have played a critical role …

Northern

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Representatives of the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo on Saturday resigned from their posts in protest over the dismissal of a police officer who did not follow the government’s decision on vehicle license plates. Earlier this week Pristina authorities dismissed a senior Serb police officer in northern Kosovo, where most of the ethnic Serbs live, who refused …

Tensions arise after Pristina asks people entering Kosovo with Serbian IDs will have to replace them with a temporary document during their stay. Kosovo’s government has postponed for a month the implementation of new border rules that sparked tensions in the north of the country where ethnic Serbs blocked roads and unknown gunmen fired on police. The latest tensions came …