Kosovo today closed the main Merdare border crossing with Serbia after about 50 people blocked it from the Serbian side overnight. They demonstrated in support of Serbs living in Kosovo, whose independence the protesters refuse to recognize. This was reported by Reuters.
Two other border crossings on the Serbian border have already been closed due to similar protests on 10 December. and now there are only three points of entry between Kosovo and Serbia.
The last protest at the border followed a few hours after Serbia has announced that it has put its army on high alert. after weeks of rising tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.
On the Serbian side of the border, Serbs used trucks and tractors to block the road leading from the Merdare border crossing.. The checkpoint is now preventing thousands of Kosovars working elsewhere in Europe from returning home for the holidays.
“If you have already entered the territory of Serbia, then you will have to use other border crossings. Or drive through North Macedonia.” the Kosovo Foreign Ministry wrote on its Facebook page along with the announcement of the closure of the Merdare border crossing.
Approximately 50,000 Serbs live in ethnically divided northern Kosovo. he refuses to recognize the Pristina government or Kosovo’s status as a separate country from Serbia. They have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and the government of that country.
Source: Blesk