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Serbs in northern Kosovo are concerned about dissolution of Civil Protection (Politika)

The agreement signed last week in Brussels, according to which the Civil Protection in northern Kosovo will be dissolved till 1 September upset the Serbs north of the Ibar/Iber River. They are particularly concerned about the “mysterious atmosphere” related to the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, bearing in mind that the Albanian side comes out with the official announcement, while Belgrade is silent.

We asked the Serbian government Office for Kosovo and Metohija whether the statements of the Pristina side are correct, i.e. that only 483 members (though this structure has 751 workers in the north) will be deployed in Kosovo civil institutions. We also asked what will happen with other employees, how many of them will be retired, and on what grounds, could it be possible that some of them will be detained, as it happened with the members of Serbian MIA. The answer of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija was that the details of the agreement will be announced during today’s visit of Marko Djuric to Kosovska Mitrovica.

In Kosovska Mitrovica can be unofficially heard that 50 Serbs, Civil protection workers, will be invited to "informative interview". This might mean that they will be remanded in custody because they appeared on the barricades. For Pristina, the Civil Protection is a “parallel formation” that will be gradually dissolved until autumn. Till then (1 September), as announced by the provisional Kosovo government, all facilities, offices and warehouses used by Civil Protection will be put under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo system.