IPOS - Tensions flare as Kosovo closes main border crossing with Serbia

Tensions are brewing in Europe again, but not only on the border of Ukraine and Russia. A flare-up in the Balkans is threatening the stability of the continent, with the epicenter of the conflict taking place in northern Kosovo. The republic's ethnic Serb minority and ethnic Albanian majority are making headlines, but this time around, the crisis seems more dangerous than usual.

Backdrop: Things escalated over the last few weeks over new license plate requirements. The government in Pristina required ethnic Serbs to surrender the Serbian-issued vehicle license plates and replace them with "Republic of Kosovo" plates. Not many made the swap before the deadline, as a struggle played out over sovereignty and identity. With plans to impose fines on the holdouts, ethnic Serbs from all of Kosovo's national institutions resigned in a mass resignation.

Historical commitments failed to bring any compromise, and those residing in the north erected roadblocks and barricades that essentially divided the area. Things didn't get any better after Kosovo accused Serbia of backing Russia's by stirring up trouble to distract attention from the war in Ukraine. Kosovo also closed its largest border crossing with Serbia on Wednesday after protesters erected roadblocks on the Serbian side.

Go deeper: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said his army is at its "highest level of combat readiness" and will take "all measures to protect our people and preserve Serbia." Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 - following a war in the late 1990s that saw NATO intervene to protect ethnic Albanian citizens -though remaining Serbs there remain loyal to Serbia, which refuses to accept Kosovo's secession.

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