The Kosovo Police says that the security situation in the north of the country remains the same, the two border points Jarinje and Bernjak continue to be closed, as is known due to the barricades set up by criminal groups.
“Criminal acts, the setting up of barricades, attacks with firearms and explosive devices, have made the work of security institutions difficult, they have violated the freedom of free movement of citizens and goods, but have not stopped the work of the Kosovo Police, which is continuously maximally engaged in providing security to all citizens and the country”, says the press release.
It also states that the Kosovo Police bases its work on its values such as professionalism, responsibility and integrity, within which it provides security and treats all citizens without distinction.
Members of the Kosovo Police are continuing their patrols in areas with a mixed population in the north of Mitrovica, providing order and security to all citizens without distinction.
The barricades at the two border points with Serbia, Jarinje and Bernjak, were set up on December 10 by Serbian criminal groups, as a sign of protest against the arrest of the former Serbian policeman, Dejan Pantic, by the law enforcement authorities in Kosovo. He is suspected of organizing a terrorist attack on the offices of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in the north of Kosovo.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has said that he expects the peacekeeping mission of NATO, KFOR, to remove the barricades in the north. Meanwhile, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, said that the Kosovo Police has the necessary capacities to act in this direction.
Calls for the removal of the barricades have also been made by the US embassy in Pristina and the one in Belgrade, saying that the arrest of Pantic is being used as an excuse for illegal roadblocks.
Masked Serbian criminal groups have attacked the Kosovo Police, journalists and the EU mission, EULEX.
As a result, a Kosovo policeman was injured, for which he also received medical treatment.
