ASSESSMENTS

Are Serbia and Kosovo Headed for Another War?

Oct 4, 2023 | 19:11 GMT

NATO soldiers serving in Kosovo patrol next to a road barricade set up by ethnic Serbs near the town of Zubin Potok on Aug. 1, 2022.
NATO soldiers serving in Kosovo patrol next to a road barricade set up by ethnic Serbs near the town of Zubin Potok on Aug. 1, 2022.

(ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Serbia's recent military deployment along the border with Kosovo does not presage an imminent invasion, but the two countries' latest flare-up in tensions will undermine an EU-brokered normalization plan and raises the risk of further violent incidents in northern Kosovo in the coming weeks. On Oct. 3, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed that the United States had seen Serbian forces start to pull back from the border with Kosovo. The statement comes after Kirby on Sept. 29 revealed an ''unprecedented'' deployment of Serbian troops along the border and announced that NATO would be deploying more peacekeepers in northern Kosovo to deter a possible invasion. In the intervening days, following U.S. and EU pressure, Serbian officials stated that they had withdrawn some of the troops their country had stationed near the border, taking the overall number from 8,350 down to 4,500 forces. In an Oct. 2 interview...

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