Serbia’s military forces have been ordered by President Aleksandar Vučić to go on high combat alert and ordered to move closer to the border with Kosovo, according to the Serbian News Agency Tanjug.
Miloš Vučević, Serbia’s defense minister, confirms that the president signed the order to increase combat readiness and describes the situation as dramatic. One of the reasons for the decision is clashes between police and Serbs in the town of Zvecar in Kosovo.
Argument over local elections
The unrest stems from a dispute over a disputed local election in Kosovo on April 23. The election was boycotted by 50,000 Serbs living in four of the country’s northern regions as a protest against increased demands for autonomy, which were not met.
The mayoral posts in the four municipalities went to representatives from ethnic Albanian parties. During Friday, Serbian demonstrators therefore gathered outside a municipal building where an Albanian mayor was sworn in, when the candidate for the Serbian minority was not elected.
Kosovo police reportedly used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The police did not comment on the incident, but confirmed that they were present at the ceremony in the municipal hall.
“According to their official mission, the Kosovo police support the mayor so that he can carry out his work and his official duties in the community,” the police wrote in a statement, TT reports.
Tense situation along the border
In the northern part of Kosovo, on the border with Serbia, Serbs make up the majority of the population. For a long time there has been a strained relationship between the neighboring countries in the Balkans. Serbia has never recognized Kosovo’s independence, which was declared in 2008.
Aleksandar Vučić last December 2022 ordered the highest alert at the border between the countries.