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After the arrest of a former Serbian police officer on Saturday, Serbs living in Kosovo blocked main roads in the north of the country. There was also a firefight between Kosovo police and the protestors. Serbia now wants to send soldiers to the region to defend Kosovo “with all determination”. An overview of the events.

The reason for the recent protests

Last month, a number of police officers and members of the authorities of Serbian origin left the service in the context of the dispute over pre-Kosovo registration plates from Serbia. The background to the dispute is that Kosovo has announced that it will no longer accept the old Serbian number plates. Numerous Kosovo Serbs have resigned their posts in protest.

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One of the former police officers, Dejan Pantic, was arrested on Saturday. He is accused of planning attacks on polling places in local elections.

The roadblocks

Parts of Kosovo’s Serbian minority responded to Pantic’s arrest with roadblocks. Main roads and other traffic junctions were already made impassable with trucks on Saturday. In the north of Kosovo, on the border with Serbia, where many ethnic Serbs live, two border crossings have been blocked.

Kosovan Interior Minister Xhelal Zvecla then wrote on Facebook that the insurgents were “criminal groups” led by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. He also called him a “liar” and a “propagandist”.

The gunfights

However, the roadblocks by the Serbian demonstrators did not stop there. Gunfire also erupted in northern Kosovo. According to local police, it was fired upon by at least three different groups at the Bernjak border crossing.

A stun grenade was also thrown at a car belonging to the EU mission in Kosovo. There were initially no reports of injuries.

Vucic’s response

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reacted to Pantic’s arrest and events in northern Kosovo by announcing that he would apply to the Kosovo Protection Force KFOR to transfer 1,000 Serbian soldiers to Kosovo. KFOR is a NATO-led military unit made up of soldiers from different countries tasked with maintaining peace in the disputed area. Switzerland is also involved in the operation.

Vucic stated that he does not expect KFOR to approve the troop transfer. According to the Serbian president, the roadblocks and protests were forced because the Serbian population had to protect themselves against Kosovo security forces. He also calls for the release of all Serbs imprisoned in northern Kosovo.

On Sunday, Vucic then assured the Reuters news agency that Serbia was “definitely” trying to de-escalate the situation in northern Kosovo.

Kurtis’s response

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti saw Vucic’s words as further provocation and aggression by Serbia. He wrote on Facebook that Serbia has been threatening Kosovo with aggression for several days now. The President and Prime Minister of Serbia demanded the return of the Serbian army to Kosovo. “We don’t want conflict, we want peace and progress. But we will respond to aggression with all the strength we have,” Kurti said.

He also called on Kosovo Serbs to distance themselves from Vucic and his “regime”.

The background

In Kosovo, there have been tensions between the different ethnic groups of Serbs and Kosovars for some time now. In 1998 and 1999, the Kosovo War broke out between the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army. NATO also intervened in the conflict to protect the Albanian majority in Kosovo.

In 2008 Kosovo declared its independence. However, only 115 United Nations states, including Switzerland, recognize Kosovo as independent. Serbia officially considers Kosovo an autonomous province. However, there are strong nationalist tendencies in Serbia that still regard Kosovo as Serbian territory. As a Serb minority still lives in Kosovo, there are numerous points of conflict between the countries.