Situation in the north/KKMK: Decrease in entries at the border point in Merdar, increase in Morina

2023-07-09 14:58:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Situation in the north/KKMK: Decrease in entries at the border point in Merdar,

The latest data from the Center for Border Management in Kosovo reflect that there is a significant decrease in entries at Kosovo's land border points.

The reason for this decrease in attendance at the land border points has been the situation in the north of Kosovo, which has created an uncertainty for all those who go to Kosovo through the border points of Serbia.

The National Center for Border Management has stated that the entries to Kosovo have increased more at the crossing point in Morina and the crossing point in Merdar, there has been a significant decrease.

Based on their statistics, it seems that from 01.06.2023 to 03.07.2023, 591,636 people entered Kosovo. This is a decrease compared to the same dates in 2022, where over 740,000 people entered Kosovo through land border points.

Rexhe Islamaj, a Kosovar Albanian who lives in Switzerland, says that due to the situation in the country and the government's call to avoid the border point in Merdar, he came to Kosovo via Croatia, Montenegro and Albania.

"I changed it because the government asked, and a friend of mine was with Kosovo documents, and we didn't want them to fall there for many reasons. I came through Croatia, we had a great time. The road was shortened by 100 km, and we entered Montenegro directly and without any problems. We have always come to Merdar or Dheu i Bardhë, and now we will return from Durrës to Italy, by ferry", says an Albanian.

Fatmir Syla, another Kosovo Albanian who has been living in Germany with his family for years, says that he never passes through Merdari for security reasons.

"I came from Germany with 26, from Croatia-Slovenia-Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, I always prefer this route because of safety. I was afraid that there will be more flow because for Serbia they called to avoid, but everything was fine even without tollov, except in Montenegro where we waited 10 minutes otherwise the trip was without problems and very good we have passed I never travel for Merdar, because of security", said Syla.

The Government of Kosovo has called on the Kosovar diaspora to avoid the border crossing through Serbia, due to the situation created in the north of the country, in order to avoid any incident.