Kosovo special forces tighten the ring around the Serbs
The situation in four municipalities in northern Kosovo remains peaceful, but so fragile that even a simple firecracker could lead to conflict and escalation of unimaginable proportions.
Kosovska Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok, where some 70 Serbs live, are in constant fear. A kind of ring has formed around the administrative crossings of Jarinje and Brnjak, the municipalities of Leposavic and Zubin Potok, where Kosovo police ROSU have set up fortifications.
At the same time, a base was opened illegally in the north of the region, which was made just one and a half kilometers from the official crossing in Yarina.
The latest provocation, according to official Belgrade, is the construction of a base that Pristina is building in the village of Yabuka, on an area of about ten hectares, without any explanation of whose land it is.
The local leadership of the Zubin Potok municipality claims that no one from the Provisional Institutions of Pristina contacted them, and the Serbs, on whose land the equipment is already working, claim that it was taken away.
The fact that Albin Kurti does not give up his intention to occupy the north with the approval of Western mentors is also evidenced by the fact that on Thursday speed boats of the Kosovo police appeared on Lake Gazivode, which, as representatives of Pristina said, “control all of Gazovode.”
When asked whether the fear of the Serbs is justified and whether there is a place for the story that “a war could break out in the north of Kosovo every second,” Veroljub Petronic, a security specialist at the Mitrovica Humane Center, replies that the Serbs are rightly afraid.
“A new Kosovo police base is being created in the municipality of Zubin Potok, which will be more military than police. And the appearance of two high-speed police boats on Lake Gazivode increased the anxiety of the residents of this area, as well as Serbs in three other municipalities,” he emphasized.
Politicians' narratives are also potential triggers for new conflicts that could escalate into armed conflict.
What is especially worrying is the raids on houses by ROSU special forces, searches, as well as the fact that the first group of police is already patrolling the north without the permission of the heads of Serbian municipalities.
Petronic also points out that “the fear of the Serbs will increase even more from October 15 due to the uncertainty of what November 1 will bring.”
“The instructions of the Kosovo government indicate that the vehicles of owners who do not agree to re-registration will be confiscated, that is, as they say, “nationalized,” the expert noted.
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