NATO Mission Says Investigating Firing Incident Near Patrol In Northern Kosovo

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th December, 2022) NATO-led peacekeeping mission Kosovo Force (KFOR) said on Monday that it is investigating a firing incident near a KFOR patrol in northern Kosovo.

Earlier in the day, the mission reported gunshot fire in Kosovo's northern part as a NATO troops were patrolling the nearby area.

"#KFOR is investigating an indirect fire incident on 25 December in the close proximity of a @NATO_KFOR patrol. The incident involved unknown armed people in the Zubin Potok area," the mission tweeted.

KFOR also noted that it was trying to establish all the facts of the incident and there were no injuries or damage.

The situation in Kosovo and Metohija remains tense. Police in partially recognized Republic of Kosovo said Tuesday that the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints at the exit to central Serbia remain closed, because "barricades on the highways hinder the movement of traffic and goods.

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On December 10, Serbs in the northern part of Kosovo began setting up barricades in protest against the arrest of Dejan Pantic, a former police officer in Kosovo who quit his post in mid-November and was arrested by the Kosovar authorities at the Jarinje border crossing on suspicion of "terrorism."

On December 11, Serbian President Alexandar Vucic held a Security Council meeting and accused Kosovo of violating the existing agreements after Kosovo's de facto leader Albin Kurti urged KFOR to dismantle road barricades erected by local Serbs in the north of the breakaway region. Kurti also noted that if the mission refused to step in, Kosovo's own security forces would carry out this operation themselves.