Northern Kosovo: Serb protests end after agreement with UNMIK

One of the Serbs' representatives, Nebojsa Minic, stated Monday that they reached an agreement with the international community representatives to start the reconstruction of five houses on Wednesday.

"We have accepted the terms of the international community which has promised they will no longer tolerate the projects of the southern municipality (Kosovska Mitrovica) and that they will not realize the south municipality's projects in the northern part without an  approval of Serb local institutions, primarily of the Municipality of (the North) Kosovska Mitrovica," Minic said.

He said they met with the UNMIK representatives and thus indirectly with the EULEX officials as well.

"They promised security. First, we asked to be allowed to split the period into weeks (for the interchangeable reconstruction of Serbian and Albanian houses), but they said they would assume responsibility to control the whole situation, so that in the following period it will be the UNMIK administration and EULEX police, together with KFOR, that will be responsible for everything," Minic said.

The Serbs protested for two weeks over the reconstruction of the Albanian houses, demanding that they also be enabled to return in Kosovo and be allowed to reconstruct their houses in this part of Kosovska Mitrovica.

Fifteen days ago, the Albanians started the reconstruction of their houses in Brdjani, destroyed in the conflicts in Kosovo in 1999. In the same district, there are also houses that are owned by Serbs, and they are to begin their reconstruction works as of Wednesday.