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Reuters: Kosovo-Serbia tensions remain high, British troops patrol 18 hours a day in shifts

2023-11-25 15:16:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Reuters: Kosovo-Serbia tensions remain high, British troops patrol 18 hours a

British troops part of the patrol of NATO reinforcements on the Kosovo-Serbia border in Jarinje, Kosovo November 24

Reuters has dedicated an article to British troops patrolling the Kosovo-Serbia border, claiming that tensions remain high.

British troops are patrolling the Kosovo-Serbia border as part of a growing NATO peacekeeping presence amid concerns that the former wartime foes could return to open conflict after a series of violent incidents in recent months, the prestigious media outlet reported. The last.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization sent hundreds of extra troops to Kosovo from Britain and Romania after a battle between authorities and armed Serbs holed up in a monastery turned a quiet village in northern Kosovo into a war zone on September 24.

A policeman and three gunmen were killed in the village of Banjska in what was seen as the worst violence since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Kosovo accused Serbia of providing financial and practical support to the armed men, which Belgrade denies.

NATO has sent an additional 1,000 troops to the region, bringing its presence there to 4,500 peacekeepers from 27 countries.

British soldiers are now being deployed on 18-hour shifts to ensure that no weapons or armed groups enter Kosovo.

"Currently we are here on a routine patrol which consists of understanding life patterns, getting intelligence on any illegal or suspicious activity which is then fed back to KFOR (NATO mission) and above, Lieutenant Joss Gaddie of the British Army told Reuters. on the border with Serbia.

During a visit to the Western Balkans on Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the organization is considering whether a more permanent increase in forces is needed "to ensure that this does not get out of hand and create a conflict of violent youth in Kosovo or in the wider region".

Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after an uprising and a NATO intervention in 1999.

About five percent of the population in Kosovo are ethnic Serbs, half of whom live in the north and refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence and see Belgrade as their capital. They have often clashed with the Kosovo police and international peacekeepers.

For more than two decades many ethnic Serbs have refused to register vehicles with Kosovo license plates, using their own system instead, which is seen as illegal by Pristina.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti's government has set a deadline of December 1 for about 10,000 motorists to register their cars with Kosovo license plates or face severe penalties. A similar request caused violence last year./ CNA