KFOR calls Serbian army training a "routine activity": It poses no threat to security

Serbian military exercises near the border with Kosovo, in the territory of Bujanovac, have raised concerns on Wednesday among Albanians in both Kosovo and Serbia. Initially, the chairman of the Albanian National Council in the Valley, Enkel Rexhepi, called the exercises unacceptable, while the mayor of Gjilan said they were provocative. 

However, KFOR stated that it was aware of the Serbian military exercises, calling them a routine activity. According to KFOR, this activity did not pose a threat or risk to security. 

"We can confirm that KFOR was informed that the Serbian Armed Forces would conduct a planned training activity involving paratroopers deployed from a helicopter in the village of Muhovc, Serbia. This is a routine activity conducted within Serbian territory and does not pose a threat to security or stability in the region," KFOR's response to KOHON said. 

Meanwhile, KFOR has reiterated that it continues to closely monitor the situation throughout the country and that it maintains communication with both the authorities within Kosovo and the Chief of Staff of Serbia. 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Thursday called Serbian military exercises near the border with Kosovo extremely worrying. He said Serbia is using the army as a tool of blackmail to keep the Balkan region in constant tension, while calling on the international community to punish Serbia's destabilizing approach.

He said that such a display by the Serbian army represents not only pressure and incitement of tension but also an attempt to intimidate the Albanian residents "who have been facing administrative ethnic cleansing by the autocratic regime in Serbia for years."