Kosovo President confirms the end of Serbia's military presence amid tensions in the north of the country

The President of Kosovo said that the Serbian military presence in her country finally ended in 1999. Early general elections will be held on 18 December in 4 Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo. Kosovo has strengthened its security forces in these areas, with the aim of securing the elections.

Kosovo President Vyusa Osmani said that the Serbian military presence in her country finally ended in 1999.

Osmani delivered a speech to the Kosovo parliament, on Thursday, in which she spoke about the developments in the north of the country and the tension with Serbia.

Osmani accused Serbia of "financing illegal criminal entities claiming Kosovar territory".

And she stressed that what she described as "criminal gangs" would not be able to suppress the desire of her citizens in the north of the country, including the Serb component, to live in their homeland, Kosovo.

"Serbia has always continued its threats to Kosovo, and these threats have escalated to aggressive dimensions, including the deployment of Serbian military forces in Kosovo," the Kosovo president added.

And she added, "But Serbia and its leader (Alexander) Vucic know very well that the Serbian military presence finally ended on the territory of Kosovo on June 12, 1999."

Early general elections will be held in 4 municipalities with a Serb majority, in northern Kosovo, on December 18.

Kosovo reinforced its security forces in these areas, with the aim of securing the elections, which caused tension to escalate again between the two neighboring countries, given that the aforementioned areas have a Serb majority.

The Serbian authorities criticized the Kosovo government's move, saying it was an attempt to invade the northern regions of the country inhabited by Kosovo Serbs.

This escalation comes in light of the ongoing tension for months between Serbia and Kosovo, following the Pristina government's attempt to ask the Kosovo Serbs to replace old car plates coming from neighboring Serbia with plates issued by Kosovo.

Kosovo, whose majority population is Albanian, seceded from Serbia in 1999 and declared its independence from it in 2008, but Belgrade still considers it part of its territory and supports a Serb minority in it.