MITROVICA – After 27 years, the Kosovo Police has begun taking responsibility for security at the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica, Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) reports.
The bridge has for years been under the responsibility of international security missions.
“This development marks another step in the process of transferring security responsibilities to Kosovo institutions”, RTK reports.
The bridge over the Ibar River has been for years one of the most sensitive security points in Mitrovica and a symbol of the division of the city, the article adds.
Serbian-language portal KoSSev reports that it had not received a confirmation from neither KFOR nor Kosovo Police, but that the change of the current security arrangement is visible on the spot.
“The tent and the static point of the Italian KFOR carabinieri, which had been there for years, were removed from the northern half of the bridge, while the carabinieri remained on the southern side”, KoSSev reports.
Meanwhile, KFOR today officially confirmed that it had begun the gradual inclusion of members of the Kosovo Police in the security structure around the Visoki Dečani monastery, stressing that the process will be gradual and depend on security conditions. KFOR, however, remains the first security responder for the monastery.
As announced by KFOR, this step is part of the process of “optimizing” their presence, and it is carried out, as they state, in accordance with the improved security situation in Kosovo.
“This process will be gradual and based on conditions, and takes place in close coordination with a number of actors, including representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church and institutions in Kosovo, as well as representatives of the Kosovo Police and the European Union Mission for the Rule of Law in Kosovo – EULEX,” KFOR stated.
