Kosovo Tensions Resurface As Showdown Looms Over License Plates

American Humvees from the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo patrol near Leposavic on September 1.

U.S. NATO peacekeepers were seen in force on the streets of northern Kosovo on September 1 as tensions reemerged in the region over a countdown announced for the enforcement of car license-plate requirements.
 

A flyer showing Kosovar (top) and Serbian car license plates with the words “No surrender! [Serbian plates] will remain!”

On September 1, Pristina announced that some 50,000 ethnic Serbs in Kosovo must exchange their Serbian license plates for ones issued by Kosovo by October 1. The prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, offered a tax break of some 5,000 euros to those who make the switch.

A Kosovar police officer works at the Jarinje border crossing from northern Kosovo into Serbia on September 1.

Kurti called the move more "nothing more or less than an expression of the exercise of [Kosovar] sovereignty” and claimed the Serbian-issued plates being used by Serbs in Kosovo “are the legacy of the Milosevic regime,” referring to Serbia's late wartime leader Slobodan Milosevic.

An armored Kosovar police vehicle drives near Leposavic in the north of Kosovo on September 1.

Tensions flared over the license-plate requirement this summer after Pristina announced the rule would go into effect on September 1. After Serbs set up roadblocks, the United States and EU pressured Kurti to delay the move.

A sticker with an image of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic near the Jarinje border on September 1.

Serbia views Kosovo as part of its territory and rejects the authority of Pristina over the region. Kosovo’s independence is partially accepted internationally, with around half of UN member states recognizing it as an independent state.

A Serbian tank takes part in drills near Kosovo on August 31.

Earlier that day, Serbia’s Defense Ministry announced that military drills were being held alongside the border with Kosovo to "ensure peace and security on the administrative line."

U.S. members of the NATO-led peacekeeping force stand near the border at Jarinje on September 1.

Major General Ferenc Kajari, commander of NATO's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, downplayed fears of violence over the reignited license issue, telling Reuters: "We don't see any kind of indication even of a preparation for a war.... Those who think responsibly, they should not talk about war.”

A sign on the Serbian side of the Jarinje border crossing references an agreement over identity cards on August 31.

The fresh tensions come just days after a major breakthrough over identity cards was reached. On August 27, Kosovo and Serbia agreed to allow freedom of movement across the border for their citizens, ending a contentious requirement for entry-exit documents.