KFOR increases presence at Jarinje due to criminal groups, Americans arrive

(Patria) - Following yesterday's tensions at the border crossings between Serbia and Kosovo, KFOR command also issued a statement late last night.

The KFOR Regional Command "East" has increased its presence at the Jarinje crossing for preventive security reasons due to the possible presence of organized criminal groups among the demonstrators, KFOR announced.

Earlier, American KFOR published photos of the deployment of its forces at Jarinje from the Kosovo side, while right-wing groups paraded on the Serbian side, Kosovo media report.

KFOR also deployed barbed wire and set up other barriers to prevent entry into Kosovo.

About two hundred protesters from Serbia tried to reach Jarinje, but were stopped by members of the Serbian police.

Xhelal Sveçla: Serb-Russian hybrid war against Kosovo

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, also commented, viewing the events at Jarinje as an "episode of a high-level Serb-Russian hybrid war against the Republic of Kosovo".

"The same non-state actors, used by both the Belgrade and Moscow regimes, represented by Damnjan Knežević, were instructed to break through this border crossing," said the Kosovo minister.

He said that in recent days, other "state and non-state actors from these two countries" have entered the territory of Kosovo, and that they are still there.

He described these people as the "only forces" that have "ignited wars in Europe" since World War II.

"Masked and barricaded armed men in the streets, with the support of the Russian spy center located in Niš, Serbia, are trying to undermine our sovereignty by inciting aggressive provocations to divert attention from the aggression in Ukraine, where, as it appears, Putin is losing the war. We will continue to expose the Russian-Serbian intention, insisting that we do not succumb in any way to the great deception that Serbia and Russia are trying to make a part of European civilization," Kosovo and Serbian media report.

Sveçla assured all citizens of Kosovo that the local police are capable and have "all the necessary capacities to deal with these criminal structures".

KFOR stated that everyone has the right to peaceful protests, and that the international forces in Kosovo are ready to act if necessary.