Albanians Establish Administration in Serbian Part of Mitrovica

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Albanians on Wednesday have established their administration in northern Mitrovica, the largest Serbian community in Kosovo, Sputnik correspondent reports.

The city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo has been divided along ethnic lines for almost 20 years. The northern, smaller part is predominantly inhabited by Serbs, while the southern part is almost exclusively Albanian.

The building of the representative body of the municipality of North Kosovska Mitrovica on Wednesday was sealed off by the police forces of the self-proclaimed republic.

According to the local media, 16 new lawmakers were sworn in, of whom there is only one Serb, Dusan Milunovic from the Civic Initiative Serbian Conservation Party. The newly sworn members elected a new chairman of the representative body, Nedzad Ugljanin, the media added.

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

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 the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission to dismantle road barricades erected by local Serbs in the north of the breakaway region. Kurti also noted that if KFOR refuses to step in, Kosovo's own security forces will be ready to carry out this operation themselves.