Tensions soar at Kosovo-Serbia border over license plates

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 Kosovo's border with Serbia as Kosovo deployed riot police while Serbs protested a move by Kosovo authorities to start removing Serbian license plates from cars entering the country.

Kosovo special police with armored vehicles were sent to the border as hundreds of Kosovo Serbs drove to the boundary in their cars and trucks, blocking roads leading to the the crossing points.

Serbian media reported said the Kosovo police fired tear gas at the protesters. The reports could not be independently verified.

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.