Kosovo: Serbia puts troops on high alert over rising tensions

The Serbian service says it is astatine its "highest level of combat readiness" aft weeks of escalating tensions betwixt Serbia and Kosovo.

President Aleksandar Vucic says helium volition "take each measures to support our radical and sphere Serbia".

The sabre-rattling is louder than ever and follows media claims that Pristina is preparing "an attack" connected taste Serb areas successful northbound Kosovo.

The authorities successful Pristina has made nary remark astir the allegations.

But it has antecedently accused Mr Vucic of playing "games" to disturbance up trouble.

The European Union has been attempting to mediate.

The 27-member bloc is calling for "maximum restraint and contiguous action" and for the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to "personally lend to a governmental solution".

Tensions person risen successful caller weeks betwixt Kosovo's taste Albanian-led authorities and the number taste Serb population. Kosovo, which has an overwhelmingly taste Albanian majority, broke distant from Serbia aft a warfare successful 1998-99.

Serbia does not recognise Kosovo arsenic an autarkic state, nor bash the taste Serbs who unrecorded there.

Belgrade has accrued its equipped beingness connected the borderline successful caller days aft conflicting reports astir a shooting incidental successful which no-one was hurt. Reports from Belgrade alleged taste Serbs had travel nether attack, but the assertion was rejected by Kosovo authorities successful Pristina.

Nevertheless, Serbia appeared to usage the reports to warrant intensifying its subject beingness connected the border.

Nato, which has immoderate 3,700 peacekeeping troops successful Kosovo, has called connected each parties to debar provocations. For years, its KFOR troops person played a important relation successful guaranteeing the peace

The European Union, which has a rule-of-law ngo successful Kosovo, has warned it volition not tolerate attacks connected EU constabulary oregon transgression acts.

Last week, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said "we are truly connected the brink of equipped conflicts" and blamed Pristina for making unilateral moves.

Ethnic Serbs acceptable up roadblocks successful the northbound connected 10 December pursuing the apprehension of a erstwhile constabulary serviceman suspected of attacking the Kosovo force.

When Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti called for the barricades to beryllium removed, a protestation attracted thousands of people, who accused him of making unfastened threats against them. Belgrade asked the KFOR ngo to let Serbian forces into the area, but KFOR said it had boosted its ain unit successful the area.

About 600 taste Serbs resigned from Kosovo's constabulary successful November implicit plans to regenerate Serbian car licence plates with section registrations. The EU brokered an uneasy deal, with Kosovo dropping projected fines and Serbia agreeing to halt caller registrations successful Kosovo.