Tension between Serbs and Kosovars

Balkans Protesters from the Serbian minority on Monday removed the barricades they had set up over the weekend in northern Kosovo, following the announcement of the postponement of a month of controversial measures taken by the Kosovo government. On August 1, the obligation for a person with a Serbian identity document to have a temporary document during their stay in Kosovo, a former Serbian province with an Albanian-speaking majority whose independence did not been recognized by Belgrade. The Pristina government had also granted the 50,000 Serbs residing in northern Kosovo two months to replace the Serbian license plates of their cars and trucks. On Sunday, the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, had warned, just before going to the staff of his army, that “Kosovo Serbs would not tolerate further persecution. We seek peace, but let me tell you, we will not surrender.” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, said Serbia, her ally, “would prepare for a military scenario” in case of’ « direct attack » against the Kosovo Serbs. NATO, which deploys 3,700 men in Kosovo, has warned that it will intervene if stability is compromised. G.D. S.