Serbs in north face shortage of food, medical supplies

The urged the international community to prevent this and open administrative line crossings in the north of Kosovo, and thus enable the delivery of medicines and other supplies and transport of patients to clinical centers in central Serbia.

Director of Kosovska Mitrovica Hospital Milan Jakovljevic stated at a press conference that in a few days the hospital will run out of oxygen, certain medicines, fuel, food for patients and technical water.

Jakovljevic underlined that the hospital will run out of oxygen supplies in a few days which will jeopardize the treatment of patients suffering from cancer and apoplexies, as well as newborn babies in the neonatal ward.

At the moment, there are 15 patients in the Kosovska Mitrovica hospital who are in need of oxygen for their further treatment, babies included.

The hospital does not have a sufficient amount of pain medication, dialysis sets and medicines for psychiatric and cardiac patients, Jakovljevic stressed.

There have also been shortages of bread, milk, and dairy products in the town's stores, while supplies of bottled water and fruit and vegetables are running out.

NATO's KFOR troops shut down the checkpoints of Jarinje and Brnjak earlier this week, preventing supplies from central Serbia from reaching Serbs in the north.

Meanwhile the Kosovo Albanian government in Pristina - whose actions sparked the current crisis when it sent police to the two checkpoints in order to ban goods coming from Serbia - said it was ready to send food products to the north if necessary.