rt.com <https://www.rt.com/news/535834-military-tanks-kosovo-border/>  


Tanks, fighter jets spotted near Kosovo border as tensions flare between Serbia 
and breakaway region (VIDEOS)


3 minutes

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Serbia has been moving tanks and other military hardware towards the Kosovo 
border, videos circulating online suggest. Tensions between the country and the 
breakaway region soared after Kosovo banned Serbian license plates. 

A large number of Serbian main battle tanks were spotted heading towards the 
Kosovo border on Saturday. Videos circulating online show multiple pieces of 
armor carried on flatbed platforms, escorted by Serbian military police 
vehicles.

Serbia has also apparently deployed at least two fighter jets to patrol the 
administrative border, another video suggests.

The show of force comes amid a new flare-up 
<https://www.rt.com/news/535365-kosovo-serbia-roadblocks-standoff/>  between 
Serbia and Kosovo, prompted by Pristina’s move to mandate that all vehicles 
with Serbian license plates must get Kosovo-issued temporary plates at border 
checkpoints before being allowed to cross into the region. The rule came into 
force on Monday, with motorists wishing to enter Kosovo from central Serbia now 
having to pay a €5 tax to receive temporary ‘Republic of Kosovo’ plates that 
are valid for 60 days.

Kosovo police have also been reportedly seizing Serbian license plates from 
drivers living in Serb-majority counties in the north of the region. 

Also on rt.com Kosovo’s Albanian police ban Serbian license plates, use tear 
gas against protesters, as US and EU urge ‘restraint’ on both sides  
<https://www.rt.com/news/535365-kosovo-serbia-roadblocks-standoff/> 

The ban prompted protests from ethnic Serbs, living in the north of the 
breakaway region. They have blocked two main roads in the area, leading to 
border crossings. The checkpoints remain blocked for a fifth consecutive day. 
Kosovo police said the roads have been cut off with “vehicles, heavy vehicles, 
gravel, etc., in different locations towards the border points Jarinje and 
Brnjak.”

On Saturday, Kosovo police claimed that two interior ministry offices near the 
border crossings were attacked. A car registration office in the town of Zubin 
Potok was set on fire while two hand grenades were thrown into a civil 
registration office in the town of Zvecan. The explosives, however, did not go 
off, police said.

Kosovo, predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians, broke away from Serbia 
following the NATO bombing campaign back in 1999. The region unilaterally 
declared independence in 2008. While Kosovo has been recognized by about half 
of the UN member states, including the US, it did not receive universal 
recognition. Among the countries that refused to recognize its sovereignty are 
Russia, China and India.

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