Serbian army on high alert amid Kosovo police raids in ethnic Serb area

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has put his military on high alert after Kosovan police raided an ethnic Serb-majority area of the breakaway region in violation of a spoken agreement between Belgrade and Pristina.

Vucic has accused Kosovo’s authorities of attempting to “criminalize” and intimidate ethnic Serbs as he vowed to protect them, according to Serbian national broadcaster RTS.

Earlier, Kosovo special police (ROSU) launched a raid in region’s north. Gunfire was reportedly heard and armored police vehicles were seen on roads. At least 19 ethnic Serbs and Bosniaks and one Albanian were arrested, Vucic told parliament during a special session.

Kosovo’s foreign minister tweeted that the operation targeted members of an “organized crime network involved in smuggling, bribery, etc.”

Clashes apparently took place in the town of Zubin Potok, where locals erected barricades and burned tires in an effort to resist the police operation. Several Serbs and one policeman were injured, RTS says.

Kosovan authorities have warned Belgrade to stay out of the matter and urged local Serbs to “support the fight against organized crime.”

Meanwhile, a Russian citizen member of UNMIK, the United Nations mission in Kosovo, is also among those detained by ROSU, Vucic said. Moscow later demanded immediate release of its citizen, who was injured during the ROSU raid.

Russian Foreign Ministry also labelled the special op as “another provocation aimed to intimidate and force out the non-Albanian population and forcibly establish control of the area.” It has accused the US and EU of emboldening Kosovo’s “provocative behavior.”

Kosovan actors have grown used to getting away with provocations.

In 2013, Belgrade and Pristina made a spoken agreement that Kosovo’s forces would stay out of the Serb-majority northern areas of the breakaway region. Despite that, Kosovo has repeatedly sent its special forces there. During a visit to the area by Kosovan president Hashim Thaci last September, they took over a local power station and detained several Serbs, which also prompted Vucic to put his military on the highest level of combat alert.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a claim not recognized by Belgrade as well as Russia, China, Spain, Greece, and a number of other countries. About half of UN member states have issued official recognition.

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