Serbia deploys army to Kosovo border amid escalating tensions

Small groups of ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo clashed with police while trying to block the entrance of municipal buildings to prevent recently elected officials from entering. In response, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic put the army on a “higher state of alert” and ordered an “urgent” movement of Serbian troops to the border with Kosovo. The conflict stems from the establishment of a promised association of Serbian municipalities in Kosovo, which would coordinate work on education, healthcare, land planning and economic development at the local level. The establishment of the association was originally a part of the 2013 Pristina-Belgrade agreement, but was later declared unconstitutional by Kosovo’s Constitutional Court.