Kosovo Force

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said on Monday the situation in Kosovo-Metohija was tense and more difficult than ever before.

Brnabic thanked Kosovo-Metohija Serbs for remaining calm and refraining from violence.

ZVECAN - Srpska lista and residents of Zvecan who gathered outside the local municipal building on Monday morning said they wanted a newly-elected ethnic Albanian mayor to stop coming into the building and Pristina's special police troops to withdraw immediately, a Tanjug reporter on the ground said.

The KFOR mission in Kosovo called on all parties to refrain from actions that could fuel tensions or cause escalation.
The Mission statement states that KFOR, led by NATO, increased its presence in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo this morning, following the latest developments in that area.

A large number of KFOR members were deployed this morning near the main bridge over the Ibar, which divides North and South Mitrovica.
They are also deployed near the municipal building in Zvean.

BELGRADE - The Serbian Armed Forces will remain in full combat readiness until further notice following a "brutal use of force by Albin Kurti and his forces against Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija," said a statement released after Saturday's session of the Serbian National Security Council.

He said that Pristina is heading towards escalation.

ZVECAN - Pristina's police stormed the building of the Zvecan municipality on Friday after firing tear gas and stun grenades at residents who had gathered outside in an attempt to stop them, a Tanjug reporter on the ground said.

Gunshots were heard in the town after clashes erupted between residents and the police.

Four people were injured in the clashes, Tanjug was told.

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian parliamentary committee on Kosovo-Metohija Milovan Drecun said on Thursday an initiative to open a Kosovska Mitrovica bridge on the Ibar River to traffic was a part of preparations to occupy the north of Kosovo.

In an appearance on Pink TV, Drecun said the occupation was being planned by Pristina's PM Albin Kurti.

BELGRADE - Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) Chief of General Staff Gen Milan Mojsilovic spoke with the chief of the NATO Military Liaison Office in Belgrade, Brig Gen Giampiero Romano, on Tuesday about the security situation in the region, the Office's activities and overall SAF-NATO relations, with particular emphasis on cooperation with KFOR.

In North Mitrovica, the newly elected mayor Erden Ati was sworn in today, they told Kosovo Online from EULEX, stressing that their forces are on alert 24 hours a day and are ready to react quickly.