The United States called on Serbia to withdraw forces deployed on the border with Kosovo, including tanks and artillery, stressing work to strengthen the presence of NATO forces in the former Serbian region with an Albanian majority, in light of the tension that is among the most severe in recent years.

The White House revealed on Friday that Serbia, which still refuses to recognize the independence declared in 2008 for the region, deployed infantry forces and armored vehicles at the border, after an armed clash in northern Kosovo on September 24, which led to the killing of a Kosovo police officer and three Serb gunmen.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday, “We see a large Serbian military deployment along the border with Kosovo,” explaining that it includes an “unprecedented” deployment of artillery batteries, tanks, and infantry units.
While Kirby considered this a "very destabilizing development," he did not want to address the risk of a new invasion of Kosovo in light of the tension that has prevailed for days.

The spokesman explained that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday and informed him of his country's "concern" and the need for "an immediate reduction in tension with a return to dialogue."

Vucic did not explicitly deny the recent military deployment at the border, but he confirmed that his country's forces were not on alert.
He said, "I denied the false allegations that talk about placing our forces at the highest level of combat readiness, because I simply did not order that and this is not accurate," stressing that the number of forces deployed on the border currently "does not even reach half of what it was two or three months ago." ".

Serbia announced on Wednesday that its Defense Minister and the Commander of its Armed Forces had inspected a “deployment area,” without additional details.

In addition, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan consulted with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Washington confirmed that Sullivan expressed his "concern about Serbian military movements" and discussed with Kurti "the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia facilitated by the European Union," considering it "the only long-term solution to ensure stability in Kosovo."

Serbia refuses to recognize the independence of its former southern province with an Albanian majority, which was declared in 2008 after a decade of bloody war between Kosovar separatists and Serbian forces.

News of a military deployment comes after a Kosovar policeman was killed on Sunday in an ambush in northern Kosovo, where Serbs constitute a majority, followed by gunfire between police special forces and an armed Serb group. The clash claimed three members of the group, who took refuge in an Orthodox monastery in the village of Bangska, near the border.

Kirby stressed that "due to recent developments", the NATO force deployed in Kosovo (KFOR) "will enhance its deployment" in the north of the former province.

He did not specify whether the matter was related only to the repositioning towards northern Kosovo, or to an increase in the number of military personnel in KFOR.
NATO also expressed its readiness to strengthen the number of this force with the aim of "confronting the situation."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on Friday, “Yesterday (Thursday), the North Atlantic Council (the political decision-making body in the alliance) approved the deployment of additional forces to confront the situation,” without specifying what forces could be deployed if necessary.

But the British Ministry of Defense stated that a battalion of between 500 and 650 members had been placed at KFOR's disposal when necessary, adding that it had "finally arrived in the region" to conduct training exercises scheduled earlier.

Stoltenberg stressed that the alliance will take "all necessary measures to maintain a safe environment, as well as freedom of movement for all those living in Kosovo."

A NATO official, who requested to remain anonymous, explained that KFOR had already strengthened its presence in Kosovo in May by deploying about 500 Turkish soldiers, who were later replaced by elements from Bulgaria and Greece.

He pointed out that the force is ready to make "additional adjustments" if necessary, to enable it to carry out the mandated tasks given to it to maintain peace in Kosovo.

The Kosovo government accused Belgrade of supporting the attack that killed the policeman.

For his part, Milan Radojicic, one of the Kosovo Serb political leaders, confirmed that an armed group he formed without Serbia's knowledge was behind the killing of the policeman.

Kosovo police arrested three people involved in the clash, which lasted about an hour and involved dozens of gunmen.
Kirby believed that the attack was "highly complex" and involved about 20 vehicles, in addition to equipment, weapons and expertise "at a military level."

"It is worrying," he added.

Pristina declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after NATO helped expel Serbian forces from the former province in a bloody war that left about 13,000 people dead, most of them of Albanian origin.

Serbia, with the support of its allies Russia and China, refuses to recognize the independence of Kosovo, where a Serbian community numbering about 120,000 people lives mainly in the north, and some of them refuse allegiance to Pristina.

On Monday, Russia held the Kosovo government responsible for the clash, warning that "bloodshed" could get out of control.