The Serbian Armed Forces, by order of the Supreme Commander, President Aleksandar Vucic, have been placed on alert, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Milos Vucevic told local media.
At the same time, the country’s Interior Minister Bratislav Gashic announced that the entity’s forces have also been called to prepare for combat.
The situation in Kosovo escalated abruptly on December 6, when Kosovo special forces, accompanied by EU mission patrols, began seizing electoral commission buildings in the north of the region. The Serb population organized and repelled the Kosovars, pushing them beyond the Ibar River. On December 8, some 350 Kosovar policemen invaded the northern part of the Serb-populated region using armored vehicles and blocked the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.
On December 10, Kosovar police arrested Deyan Pantic, a former Serb policeman, on trumped-up charges. In response, the Serb population began mass protests and road blockades in several settlements.
