Barricade in Divided Kosovo Town Removed

The barricade over the river Ibar in Mitrovica - the most potent symbol of division in Kosovo between Serbs living in the north and Albanians in the south - was taken down late on Tuesday.

The road over the bridge was finally open to traffic on Wednesday after tons of stones and sand were removed overnight.

The Kosovo government said it welcomed the removal of the barricade.

“Barricades, be they physical or mental, have no room in democratic Kosovo and are unacceptable to the civic values of our society”, Hashim Thaci, the outgoing Prime Minister, said.

“This reasonable action of the people who live there clearly proves their maturity and readiness to live in peace, freely and without barricades,” Thaci added.

Agim Bahtiri who was elected mayor of Southern Mitrovica in local elections held last year, said the barricade was removed “with the close cooperation of the people and international diplomats”.

Serbs in the divided town erected the barricade on the bridge three years ago in a protest against of Kosovo government police and customs on the contested border with Serbia.

Since the conflict in Kosovo ended in the late 1990s, the north of the country has been beyond the Kosovo government's control while Serbia has continued to finance local security, judicial, health and educational institutions.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia refuses to recognize it. However, both sides are now conducting an EU-facilitated dialogue aiming to "normalize" relations.

On April 19, 2013, authorities in Pristina and Belgrade adopted a draft agreement, which mainly concerned the position of Serbs in the north.

Under the agreement, an Association of Serbian Municipalities with broad powers...