Northern Kosovo, where most of the ethnic Serb minority lives, has long been a flashpoint of tensions between Pristina and Belgrade.
ADVERTISEMENTAt least four people were arrested in North Mitrovica after protesting the visit of Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Monday, police authorities said.
Serb activist and opposition Democracy party leader Aleksandar Arsenijević was among those arrested, according to Deputy Police Commander Petrit Fejza.
Kurti's visit to the town of some 27,000 divided along ethnic lines was seen by the local Serbs as an act of provocation amid rising tensions in the northern region.
The tensions first spiked over the possibility of opening the bridge on the Ibar River that divides the city into Serb and Albanian-majority parts and have been ongoing for weeks.
Two of four border crossings with Serbia have been closed after protesters on the side of the town where most of the ethnic Serb minority lives blocked the road and prevented motorists with Kosovo-issued licence plates from passing through.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo PM took advantage of his walk in North Mitrovica to talk to Serbian journalists.
"We now have an agreement and the agreement must be respected, implemented. But Belgrade does not recognise the agreement it agreed to," Kurti said.
"But the Serbs have realised that this agreement is not compatible with the Greater Serbian ideology," he added.
Flashpoint of tensions
Northern Kosovo, with a predominantly ethnic Serb population, has long been a flashpoint of tensions between Pristina and Belgrade.
The two capitals have been at odds since Kosovo — Serbia's former province — declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after the 1998-1999 conflict that led to a NATO intervention against the Belgrade regime of Slobodan Milošević.
The country's independence has been recognised by most EU member states, the UK, and the US, among others.
Serbia rejects this as illegal, backed by the likes of Russia and China. The Serbs in the north reject Pristina's authority and Kosovo's independence from Belgrade.
Recently, Serbian activists have been vocally demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo police officers from the town. Some have also asked that KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeepers who have been stationed in Kosovo since the war and have the final say on security matters, assume control.
KFOR spokesperson Colonel Salvatore Mascoli has said any decision in this respect must be taken through dialogue and "effective coordination with the international community."
In the meantime, KFOR continued to maintain its "fixed presence on the bridge," Mascoli said.
ADVERTISEMENTAuthorities in Belgrade said they would respond to Kurti's visit by Friday. But they have also said that they are ready to continue the EU-led dialogue with Pristina, which has been ongoing for more than a decade, in the hope of joining the union.