Kosovo's main border crossing with Serbia closed amid escalation

The Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its Facebook page that those who are on their way to Kosovo from Serbia will have to find another crossing point instead of the Merdare border crossing or enter the country from northern Macedonia.

Since 10 December, two other crossing points on the Serbian-Kosovo border have been closed, and now only three crossings between the two countries are open.

The closure of the Merdare border crossing could cause serious problems for thousands of Kosovars working abroad who want to return home for the holidays and can now only do so by detour. In addition, the Merdare crossing is heavily used by lorries.

Kosovo Serbs have been erecting roadblocks in northern Kosovo for days. On Monday, Serbia put its troops near the Kosovo border on high alert, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić travelled to the southern Serbian military garrison near the town Raška, close to Kosovo, where he discussed the security situation with Chief of General Staff Milan Mojsilović. Vučić said that he had ordered the army to be on high alert to "protect their people" (in Kosovo) and "protect Serbia".

The barracks visited by Vučić are located about five kilometres from the buffer zone along the Kosovo border, where Serbian security forces can only enter with the permission of the NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Belgrade has not recognized and continues to consider the predominantly Albanian territory as its own southern province. Around 50.000 Serbs live in a block in the north of Kosovo, and around 50.000 live in other parts of the country in dispersed areas.

The situation in northern Kosovo has been tense for months. Local Serbs have been protesting for days by setting up barricades and blocking roads leading to border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia in protest at the arrest of several former Kosovo Serb police officers by Kosovo police. The protesters are demanding the release of those arrested on what they say are fabricated charges. The Kosovo side claims that the barricades were set up by criminal gangs and the international community is calling on both sides to calm down and demands the removal of the roadblocks.