Barricade at Merdare Administrative Crossing Removed

Merdare (BETAPHOTO/ARMENIJA ZAJMI BESEVIC)

The roadblock at north Kosovo’s Merdare administrative crossing has been removed and normal traffic has resumed, the RTS public service reported on Dec. 29.

The barricade had been positioned about one kilometer away from Merdare, on Serbia proper territory, and had been erected by Kursumlija locals and displaced Kosovo Serbs in a show of solidarity with the Serb protesters in Kosovo. 

The removal of the barricades in Rudare, at northern Kosovo’s other administrative crossing, has not yet commenced and the people manning the roadblocks have not been told when the clearing should begin. 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced in the morning of Dec. 29 that the dismantling of roadblocks in Kosovo’s north is set to begin. 

In a public address the evening before, on Dec. 28, following a sit-down with north Kosovo Serb representatives at the Stefan Nemanja Barracks in Raska, Vucic emphasized that “the removal of barricades is not a simple process and cannot be done in just an hour or two.”

Over the past 20 days, Kosovo Serbs erected barricades in at least 14 locations throughout Kosovo’s north.