UNITED STATES: The White House has called for Belgrade to evacuate its troops and armoured vehicles from the Kosovo border due to an “unprecedented” increase in Serbian forces.
The Biden administration claimed it was engaging with partners to make sure Kfor’s stance “matches the threat” after adding more British troops to the Nato peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, known as Kfor.
The US is monitoring a significant Serbian military deployment along the Kosovo-Serbia border, including modern Serbian artillery, tanks, and mechanized infantry troops, according to the spokesperson for the US national security council, John Kirby.
Kirby added that the US is calling on Serbia to withdraw its forces and defuse tensions, as this destabilizing development has occurred over the past week.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan has also called for a discussion with Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti. In a message to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called a “immediate de-escalation” and a return to his prior commitment to normalising relations with Kosovo.
The US issued warnings following an ambush by Serb paramilitaries on a Kosovan police patrol, resulting in the death of a police officer and the deaths of three Serb militants near Banjskë settlement.
Milan Radoičić, the debuty leader of Serb List, led a group in northern Kosovo that claimed responsibility for a shootout with Kosovan police. However, he did not specify the source of the advanced weapons used by the paramilitaries.
Pristina officials feared the incident was a pretext for Serbian military intervention, as the Kosovan government provided a document claiming a grenade launcher was given to the group by the Serbian army.
Three Kosovo Serbs were killed, and Serbia declared a day of mourning. Vucic falsley claimed ethnic Serbs were being subjected to “brutal ethnic cleansing” by Kosovo forces.
The UK Ministry of Defence reported that the Royal Princess of Wales regiment’s battalion’s command had been transferred to Kfor for a training exercise.
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