Kosovo and Serbia are on the verge of conflict again
Another violent clash is the last thing America or the EU need
In the village of Rudare locals wander in the street and warm their hands on flaming braziers. Lorries block the road. A car disgorges a group of masked men. On December 10th barricades were erected across the north of Kosovo, where most inhabitants are ethnic Serbs. Diplomats from America and the European Union are working overtime to defuse an explosive situation. On the walls of the ethnic-Serbian part of the nearby divided city of Mitrovica, someone has been spray-painting the crest of a mysterious “Northern Brigade”. Whether it is a secret paramilitary organisation or a campaign to make people believe there is one—no one knows. “We are waiting!” says the stencil.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Balkan barricades”
Europe December 24th 2022
From the December 24th 2022 edition
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