BELGRAD, August 1. /TASS/. A mass rally of Kosovo Serbs is taking place in northern Kosovo and Metohija near the village of Rudare, the Tanjug news agency reported on Monday.

A barricade was reportedly erected on the highway near the village of Rudare on Sunday. Protesters were there all night long. In the morning, Kosovo Serbs began arriving at the barricade, demanding that Pristina repeal the ban on Serbian documents and compulsory re-registration of vehicles.

The barricade consisted of several sand trucks that were positioned along the side of the road. Between them, on the roadway, therer are hundreds of protesters.

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.

International efforts resulted in Pristina's decision to postpone the procedure for issuing the ban on the Serbian documents until September 1.