Kosovo deploys police, Serbs protest amid border tension

Tensions have soared on the border between Kosovo and Serbia as Pristina authorities started implementing a rule to remove Serbian license plates from cars entering Kosovo

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Tensions soared Monday at the border between Kosovo and Serbia as Kosovo deployed additional police to implement a rule to remove Serbian license plates from cars entering Kosovo, while Serbs protested the move.

Kosovo special police with armored vehicles were sent to the border as hundreds of Kosovo Serbs reportedly drove to the border in their cars and trucks, blocking a road leading to one of the crossing points in protest.

Serbia’s police have for years been taking off registration plates from Kosovo-registered cars entering Serbia, and the latest move by Kosovo authorities appears to be a tit-for-tat move.

Serbia doesn't recognize its former province of Kosovo as a separate state and considers the mutual border only as an “administrative” and temporary boundary.