Mitrovica, Kosovo

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian parliamentary committee on Kosovo-Metohija Milovan Drecun said on Wednesday the groundwork for Tuesday's arrest of a Kosovo Serb in Kosovska Mitrovica - as well as for any further arrests - had been laid by Pristina days beforehand.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke by phone with US Senators Chris Murphy, Jeanne Shaheen and Pete Ricketts on Tuesday.

The situation in the north of Kosovo-Metohija was the sole topic of the conversation, the presidential press office said in a statement.

Northern Kosovo was hit by fresh violence on Tuesday after police arrested Kosovo Serb Milun 'Lune' Milenkovic on suspicion of orchestrating attacks against NATO peacekeepers at the end of May, testing international efforts to de-escalate tensions.

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said on Tuesday Belgrade would do everything to preserve peace in Kosovo-Metohija and avert war, but noted that the situation in the north of the province was the toughest to date.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - A large number of Serb protesters gathered in the north of Kosovska Mitrovica after Pristina's police arrested another Serb.

The protesters gathered at a crossing between the northern and the southern part of the town and Pristina's police forces are deployed on the southern side.

After the Kosovo police arrested another Serb, a large number of Serbs gathered at the crossing between the northern and southern parts of Kosovo's Mitrovica, while the Kosovo police were on the southern side.
A cannon shot was also heard from the south side of the city.
The situation is currently calm, but tense, and the sirens in North Mitrovica are still sounding.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - The lawyer of Dusan Obrenovic, a Serb who was arrested and brutally beaten up by Pristina's police in Zvecan on Monday, said on Friday his client's physical condition was now more stable but that concerns for his safety remained.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told media on Thursday that he had "begged" locals in the north of Kosovo, protesting for the fourth day in a row in front of municipal buildings in the Serb-dominated area, "in their determination to persevere in the fight for law and justice, to do so always, above all, in relation to KFOR, in a peaceful way".

ZVECAN - Two Serb men arrested during Monday's clashes in Zvecan and subsequently handed over by Kfor to Pristina's police were transferred to court detention in Kosovska Mitrovica on Wednesday morning, former Zvecan mayor Dragisa Milovic said.

He said Rados Petrovic and Dusan Obrenovic were due to appear before a judge later in the day.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - The director of the Kosovska Mitrovica hospital, Zlatan Elek, said on Wednesday a 58-year-old Serb man wounded in Monday's clashes in Zvecan, a Serb-majority municipality in the north of Kosovo-Metohija, was in critical condition and remained in intensive care.