Tensions are mounting in the Balkans. Serbia puts the army on alert

• Serbs say unknown drones watched barracks and their army positions near the border with Kosovo
• From November 1, Kosovo does not recognize the use of Serbian number plates on cars by residents
• The case had already raised tensions at the turn of July and August. At that time, the Prime Minister of Kosovo accused Serbia of organizing the incidents with the support of Russia
• More important information can be found on the Onet homepage

Serbia’s Defense Minister, Milos Vucevic, has put the army on alert on the orders of the country’s president, Alexander Vucic, in connection with the “demands” of the authorities in Pristina. It is about Kosovo’s requirements that, from November 1, citizens’ cars should have local registration plates, not Serbian ones. In the northern part of the country, which is still not recognized by all countries in the world, there are quite a few Serbs. Failure to comply with this recommendation is to be punished with fines. In the future, there will even be confiscation of cars.

“The president of the republic has ordered the Serbian army to be on standby, to raise its combat readiness to a level where it can respond to any threat,” said Vucevic. “When Serbia talks about peace and stability, it does not mean that we are weak, that we may be disturbed and humiliated,” he added.

A few hours later, the Serbian president gave an order that the military should destroy all enemy drones that crossed the country’s border, the portal novosti.rs reports. To this end, Vucic ordered the Serbian MIG-29 fighters to be picked up. This happened after an incident that took place in the area above the village of Merdare, when unknown drones were watching the barracks and positions of the Serbian army.

Let us remind you that at the turn of July and August, there were short-term incidents in the north of Kosovo in connection with the announced replacement of car registration plates from Serbian to Kosovar. According to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the incidents were organized by Belgrade with the support of Moscow.

Eventually, Belgrade and Pristina worked out an agreement. Serbia agreed to abolish entry / exit documents for Kosovo ID card holders, and Kosovo was not to introduce them for Serbia ID card holders. The registration plate replacement deadline has been postponed to October 31st.

Serbia lost control of Kosovo after the 1999 NATO campaign and does not recognize the independence of its former province that was declared in 2008. The dialogue launched in 2013 has not yet resulted in a meaningful agreement.

One of the subjects of the dispute between Belgrade and Pristina is the creation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo – an autonomous unit postulated by Kosovo Serbs and Serbia from 10 municipalities in the north of the country, inhabited mainly by the Serb population. The establishment of the Community was one of the provisions of the Brussels Agreement concluded in 2013, the implementation of which is refused by the Kosovo side.

Source: TASS, PAP, novosti.rs