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Serbs dismantling barricades in northern part of Kosovo and Metohija — newspaper

On Sunday, tensions escalated in Kosovo and Metohija after Kosovo police had closed a checkpoint on the administrative line with Serbia as part of preparations for the implementation of the ban

BELGRADE, August 1. /TASS/. Ethnic Serbs have begun to dismantle the barricades that were set up in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija on Sunday in protest against plans to ban the use of Serbian license plates and IDs, the Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the paper, key highways in northern Kosovo may be reopened to traffic in the coming hours.

Tensions escalated dramatically in Kosovo and Metohija on Sunday after Kosovo police had closed a checkpoint on the administrative line with Serbia as part of preparations for the implementation of the ban. In response, Serbs living in the northern part of Kosovo came out to protest and blocked major roads. Police officers and members of the NATO-led Kosovo Force international mission (KFOR) were deployed to a bridge across the Ibar River, which connects the northern and southern parts of Kosovska Mitrovica.

As a result of international efforts, Pristina decided to postpone the ban until September 1.

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