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Over 200 Kosovar Police Officers Block Serb-Inhabited Kosovska Mitrovica City - Reports

© Sputnik / Marco Kuzhavic / Go to the mediabankSerbian flags on a street in Kosovska Mitrovica, where Kosovo Serbs are protesting against Pristina's actions in Kosovo.
Serbian flags on a street in Kosovska Mitrovica, where Kosovo Serbs are protesting against Pristina's actions in Kosovo. - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.12.2022
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BELGRADE (Sputnik) - More than 200 Kosovar armed special unit police officers, accompanied by armored equipment, has entered and blocked the Serb-Inhabited Kosovska Mitrovica city in the north of Kosovo, local media reported on Thursday.
The Kosovo Online portal cited the police as saying that they entered the city to ensure safety. Police forces threw two shock bombs, the report said.
Citizens are gathering in the city's streets and discussing everything that is happening, the portal's correspondent reported. So far, there have been no incidents between them and the police.
The portal released a video showing chains of Kosovo police officers in the streets.
All cafes and stores are closed, and the situation remains tense, the report said.
Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said on Thursday that the increased presence of police forces in Kosovska Mitrovica is necessary to ensure public safety.
"KP [Kosovo police] has increased the presence of its Public Order units in the north of Kosova after repeated violent attacks by criminal groups against our institutions and citizens in that area. They are there to serve & protect. We invite all citizens in the north of Kosova to preserve calm," Svecla said on Twitter.
On Tuesday, representatives of the Kosovo Electoral commission, accompanied by police, forced their way into and vandalized municipal election commissions in the Serb-populated towns of Zubin Potok, Leposavic, and northern Kosovska Mitrovica. Air-raid sirens and firecrackers were heard throughout the towns, and videos of concerned citizens circulated on social networks.
Local media then reported that police had defused an unexploded grenade at the Kosovo Mitrovica commission premises. Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said afterward that he would increase police activity.
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani had previously scheduled early municipal elections in the Serb-inhabited north of Kosovo for December 18. Serbian political representatives, who had previously left all structures of the self-proclaimed republic in protest, declared a boycott.
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