Amid tensions over a new license plate scheme by the Kosovo government, 135 police officers from the EU mission Eulex have been relocated to the predominantly Serb-populated north of Kosovo.
The head of the mission, the Swede Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, informed the Kosovo Serb news portal “kossev.info” on Wednesday evening.
The European agents would also patrol on foot, filling the security gap left by the resignation of Serbian police officers in northern Kosovo to protest the license plate regulation.
“But we cannot take over and replace the job of the Kosovo police,” Wigemark said, according to the portal. Formerly part of Serbia and independent since 2008, Kosovo is now inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians. Ethnic Serbs live mainly in the north of the divided city of Mitrovica and three surrounding rural communities. The government’s license plate regulation in Pristina prohibits Serbs in the north from continuing to use the license plates and vehicle papers of neighboring Serbia. According to the regulation, these must be exchanged for Kosovar number plates and papers.
Serbia has never recognized Kosovo’s independence, claims its territory as its own and openly supports Kosovo Serbs who oppose the sovereignty of the Kosovo government. This includes criminal gangs that have, for example, set fire to the cars of the few Kosovo Serbs who have re-registered their vehicles.
The ordinance came into effect early this month after several postponements due to Serbian protests. Currently, drivers with Serbian license plates are only warned. However, fines should be imposed from next week. (aeg/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
