KFOR exceeded its mandate, official says

SOURCE: B92

LEPOSAVIĆ -- By blocking the alternative roads in northern Kosovo KFOR is overstepping its mandate, says Serbian government's Office for Kosovo Head Aleksandar Vulin.

The KFOR mandate, as Vulin told Tanjug, is to preserve peace and security in Kosovo, rather than block crossings as “it has no police or parapolice role”.
Vulin believes that this is not a coincidence as it precedes the beginning of the technical talks.

According to him, this is a way to place pressure on the Serbian negotiating party before the beginning of the talks.

“KFOR is in serious danger of losing legitimacy and little trust it has with the Serb population. If this kind of behavior continues, it may have consequences which would push Kosovo and Metohija into uncertainty and serious security risks just as a year ago,” Vulin explained.

He said that the aim of this KFOR move is to terrify Serbs both in north Kosovo and south of the Ibar River and make their lives more difficult.

“The KFOR blockage, which had no cause behind, has already led to a scarcity of medicines and food. I am afraid that it will also cause increase in prices and make living much more difficult,” Vulin warned.

“UNMIK must have been informed about this KFOR action, and this is yet another proof that KFOR has overstepped its mandate,” he underlined.