BELGRADE, August 13 A new escalation in Kosovo and Metohija will occur before the beginning of September with an expected attempt by the Kosovo Albanian authorities to invade the Serb-populated north of the region, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in an interview.
«I expect an escalation in Kosovo and Metohija this year until September. Because I see from the reactions of the quintet (USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy) of different embassies, which are threatening (the Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Kosovo Albin – ed.) Kurti a lot, but doing nothing. Usually, when this happens, events develop dangerously. Now is the ideal time for an attack (by Kosovo Albanians) on the north of the region. The University of Kosovska Mitrovica with eight thousand students, who have always defended the bridge between the southern and northern parts of Kosovska Mitrovica and prevented an attack on the north, is now on vacation,» said Vulin, who headed the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security and Information Agency of Serbia (BIA).
The city of Kosovska Mitrovica is divided by the Ibar River into northern and southern parts, each of which is a separate municipality. The first is predominantly inhabited by Serbs, the second – by Albanians. The bridge over the Ibar and the adjacent streets have been the site of repeated protests and clashes since 1998, and in recent years the «police» of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo have carried out raids into the northern, Serbian part of the city.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also reported that he expects unrest if the Kosovo Albanian «authorities» attempt to open the bridge between the southern «Albanian» and northern «Serbian» parts of Kosovska Mitrovica for traffic on August 14-15, and called on the NATO KFOR contingent to prevent violence.
Earlier, Kurti and Kosovo «Interior Minister» Dzhelal Svechlya repeatedly announced the opening of the bridge over the Ibar River, which for years has been a symbol of the separation of the predominantly Serb-populated north of the region from the Albanians in the central and southern regions.