Kosovo Serbs keep roads blocked, situation still tense скачать в хорошем качестве

Kosovo Serbs keep roads blocked, situation still tense

(12 Dec 2022) ASSOCIATED PRESS Uglare, Kosovo - 12 December 2022 1. Various of KFOR’s Latvian military staying near the blocked road in Uglare, northern Kosovo, mostly populated by ethnic Serb minority 2. Latvian officer checking truck blocking road 3. Elderly couple walking past house with Serbian flag 4. Various of two trucks that have blocked road to border crossing 5. Man working at his house ASSOCIATED PRESS Mitrovica, Kosovo - 12 December 2022 6. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Arian Kadriu, a northern Mitrovica resident: “Many citizens are feeling safer. Before they came (police), there was fear of any attack against us but today everything is well. We are sleeping better.” 7. Various of broken window of an electoral office which was damaged from grenade last week 8. Various of Kosovo armed police officers walking at the Bosnians’ quarter where there is a mixture of Albanian and Serbian residents 9. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Cen Dauti, a northern Mitrovica resident: “We are not feeling safe ourselves because we are a minority there on the hill. But everything is well now. Those (police officers) have all stood by us. We owe them.” 10. Albanian police officer and his car nearby 11. Various of EULEX police vehicles and an Albanian police vehicle at crossroad 12. Albanian police vehicle driving by 13. Other cars on the road STORYLINE: An increased Albanian and international police presence in the north of Kosovo is keeping the situation calm there. Tensions were still high in northern Kosovo on Monday, with Serbs still blocking roads, and shots and explosions heard in the last days. The blocking of roads with heavy vehicles and trucks took place a day after after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he would ask the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo to permit the deployment of 1,000 Serb troops in the Serb-populated north of Kosovo, claiming they are being harassed there. The return of Belgrade’s troops to the former Serbian province could dramatically increase tensions in the Balkans. The roadblocks, which Serbs say were erected to protest the recent arrest of a former Kosovo Serb police officer, came despite the postponement of the Dec. 18 municipal election opposed by Kosovo Serbs. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Belgrade of trying to destabilize Kosovo and called on Kosovo’s Serbs “to distance themselves from the criminal groups and Vucic’s regime that is funding them and looking for a war.” The European Union rule of law mission, known as EULEX, has sent tens of its police officers to temporarily guard the northern area after the boycott of the posts from Serb minority representatives to protest against a Pristina government decision not to accept Serbia’s issued vehicle number plates any more. Tensions have been high in Kosovo ever since it proclaimed independence from Serbia, despite attempts by the EU and U.S. officials to defuse them. Serbia, supported by its allies Russia and China, has refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood. AP video shot by Erion Xhabafti =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...