Kosovo Tightens Border Security With Serbia Amid Incursion Row

(Bloomberg) -- Kosovo strengthened control over the border with Serbia, curbing cargo traffic, as the premier accused its bigger neighbor of illegally detaining three police officers.

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Following the worst violence in a decade last month, tensions again climbed after Serbia showed footage of the armed Kosovo officers it said were caught about a mile inside its territory. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the men had been abducted within his country, which Serbian units had entered illegally.

Kosovo has “tightened border controls with Serbia, limiting circulation and increasing checks of vehicles coming from Serbia,” Kurti told reporters in Pristina on Thursday. The premier called for support from international allies, demanding that pressure be put on for the Balkan state for its “aggressive actions.”

Unrest in Kosovo, which has sought full international recognition since a unilateral split from Serbia in 2008, broke out in May in majority-Serb municipalities, where the predominantly ethnic Albanian authorities installed mayors after elections were boycotted by local Serbs.

The flare-ups have all but unraveled years of European Union and US efforts to defuse decades of disputes between the wartime foes, which both aspire to join the 27-nation bloc.

Read more: EU Takes Rare Steps Against Kosovo for Failure to Lower Tension

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called for an international investigation into the incident involving the police officers, including by a NATO-led peacekeeping mission deployed in Kosovo.

Serbian trucks carrying consumer goods were turned back at the main border crossing at Merdare, according to the N1 regional broadcaster. Serbian Trade Minister Tomislav Momirovic said the move amounts to a trade ban, contrary to agreements brokered by the EU.

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