BELGRADE, August 1. /TASS/. Firing from automatic weapons is being heard near the Brnjak checkpoint on the administration line between Kosovo and Metohija and Serbia, TV Pink reported.

Shooting from automatic weapons is being heard in Banje village located not far from the checkpoint. The firefight continues for several hours, according to the TV Channel.

The situation in Kosovo and Metohija deteriorated dramatically on Sunday evening after Kosovo’s police had closed the checkpoint at the border with Serbia. In response, Serbs in the north of Kosovo took to the streets and blocked key highways. Police and the Kosovo Force (KFOR), a NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, were pulled to the bridge across the Ibar River, which links Kosovska Mitrovica’s northern and southern parts.

In his address to the nation, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the situation for ethnic Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija has aggravated after Pristina had decided to ban Serbian documents starting from midnight from Sunday to Monday.