The government of Serbia sent its Army Chief, General Milan Mojsilovi, to the Kosovo border and order Serbia’s military to be on the highest level of alert. As we read in France 24:

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dispatched the army chief on Sunday night to the border with Kosovo, General Milan Mojsilovic himself announced, as strained relations between the two countries were exacerbated by recent blockades.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade refuses to recognise the move and encourages the remaining 120,000 Serbs to defy Pristina’s authority.

Hundreds of ethnic Serbs, outraged over the arrest of an ex-police officer, set up roadblocks on December 10 in Serb-majority northern Kosovo which have paralysed traffic through two border crossings.

“The situation there is complicated and complex,” the Serbian army chief said in an interview with local news channel Pink TV on Sunday.

“It requires in the coming period the presence of the Serbian army along the administrative line,” he said, using the term Belgrade uses for the border with Kosovo.

The general added that he was on his way to Raska, a town about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border with Kosovo after meeting with Vucic in Belgrade.

“The tasks the Serbian army has got … are precise, clear, and will be fully implemented,” Mojsilovic said.

Agence France also reports:

Serbian armed forces were on “the highest level” of alert, Defence Minister Milos Vucevic said late Monday evening, highlighting the Balkan country’s increasingly strained relations with neighbouring Kosovo over recent shootings and blockades.