Kosovo announces closure of two border crossings with Serbia after protest

Kosovo announced on Saturday that it has closed two border crossings with Serbia after demonstrators on Serbian soil partially blocked roadways and turned back travelers holding Kosovo documents in response to recent incidents in Kosovo’s volatile north.

A small group of demonstrators assembled a few kilometres inside Serbia, near at least three border crossings, to check that drivers had Kosovo-issued travel permits.

Announcing the closing of the Merdare and Bernjak crossings.

Four additional borders between Balkan neighbours remained open.

The group was criticizing Pristina’s recent moves in northern Kosovo, which is primarily populated by ethnic Serbs and has shuttered Belgrade-run parallel institutions.

Approximately 50,000 Serbs dwell in that area and, like Serbia, do not recognize Kosovo’s independence. They consider Belgrade to be their capital.

Northern Kosovo has seen its worst ethnic tensions in the last two years, dating back to 2008, when the Albanian-majority country proclaimed independence following a years-long guerrilla uprising against harsh Serbian control.

Although more than 100 nations acknowledge Kosovo, Serbia considers it part of its territory. It accuses Kosovo’s central government of violating ethnic Serbs’ rights and denies inciting violence within its neighbour’s boundaries.