Tension Escalates: Serbia Sends Military Chief to Kosovo Border

By Staff, Agencies 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dispatched army chief, General Milan Mojsilovic , on Sunday night to the border with Kosovo as strained relations between the two countries were exacerbated by recent blockades.

“The situation there is complicated and complex,” the Serbian army chief said in an interview with local news channel Pink TV on Sunday.

He further stated: “It requires in the coming period the presence of the Serbian army along the administrative line,” using the term Belgrade uses for the border with Kosovo.

The general added that he was on his way to Raska, a town about 10 kilometers [six miles] from the border with Kosovo after meeting with Vucic in Belgrade. 

“The tasks the Serbian army has got ... are precise, clear, and will be fully implemented,” Mojsilovic said.

The latest bout of tensions came after Kosovo scheduled local elections in Serb-majority municipalities on December 18, and the main Serb political party said it would stage a boycott.

An ex-policeman suspected of involvement in attacks against ethnic Albanian police officers was arrested, outraging ethnic Serbs who erected the barricades.

Shortly before Mojsilovic departed for the border area, several Serbian media outlets broadcast a video shared on social networks in which gunfire can be heard. 

The outlets said it was fighting that occurred early Sunday evening when Kosovar forces tried to dismantle a barricade.