Serbian troops on alert after Kosovo police arrests in northern region

Belgrade has ordered its troops to full alert after reports that Kosovo police entered Serb-populated regions of the breakaway Serbian province.

Serbia’s state TV said on Tuesday that Kosovo’s special police “burst into” northern Kosovo and made several arrests. There was no confirmation of the action from Pristina, AP said.

Serbian government official Marko Djuric said the Kosovo police action was designed to intimidate and expel Serbs from Kosovo and presents a “not only a threat to stability but the most direct threat to peace.”

Serbia and dozens of other states do not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.