Kosovo Interior Minister Dželjalj Svečlja announced that parallel municipalities of Serbia, post offices and tax offices in ten different municipalities were closed on Wednesday morning.
Police actions were taken in the municipalities of Lipjan, Obilić, Pristina, Fushë Kosovë, Vushtrri, Novo Brdo, Kamenica, Viti, Rahovec and Skenderaj.
"Joint action will end the era of Serbian parallel and criminal municipalities and institutions in the Republic of Kosovo," Svečlja said.
The video posted by Svečlja also shows Kosovo's Minister of Local Government Elbert Krasniqi, who said that "as of today, 28 parallel, criminal Serbian municipalities in Kosovo and their five districts have finally been closed."
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić assessed that the action carried out by the Kosovo Police on Wednesday was a "dangerous escalation".
"These aggressive moves are not just an attack on institutions, but a clear attempt to undermine the collective rights and identity of Serbs in Kosovo," Đurić wrote on his Instagram account.
He stated that "this strategy only deepens divisions and threatens stability in the region" and called on the international community to publicly and unequivocally condemn these actions and protect the rights of Serbs in Kosovo.
Radio Free Europe previously reported that Kosovo Police entered the Serbian post office in Gracanica and the parallel municipality of Pristina, which has also operated in Gracanica since the post-war period.
A yellow tape has been placed in front of the Post of Serbia building, and Radio Free Europe journalists report that police officers are currently stationed in these two institutions, while employees of both institutions are leaving the premises.
The Kosovo Police said that the regional directorates of Pristina, Gjilan, Gjakova and South Mitrovica are conducting police operations, but did not confirm what kind of operations they are. "Further information will be released after the police action is completed," the Kosovo Police told RFE/RL.
Other branches of the post office were also closed in Serb-majority northern Kosovo on August 5 last year - a move criticized by the European Union and the United States (US), which at the time expressed "deep disappointment" and called the action unilateral and uncoordinated.
Many other Serbian institutions were also closed during actions taken by the Kosovo Police last year. Such actions have continued this year.
On January 8, Kosovo police closed the Tax Administration in North Mitrovica, which operated within the Serbian system, due to "illegal activities", as well as an insurance company from Serbia - Dunav Osiguranje, on suspicion of operating without a license.
Kosovo began closing Serbian institutions back in January 2024, first closing the provisional municipal bodies in Dragash, Suhareka, Prizren, and Rahovec, all located south of the Ibar River.
At that time, the temporary municipal bodies of Peja, Istok, Klina, Skenderaj, as well as those in the municipalities in the north: North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić were closed.
Also closed are the branches of the Serbian Post in northern Kosovo, the National Bank of Serbia's headquarters in Leposavić, the Post Savings Bank, the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo, the Directorate of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, the Kosovo-Mitrovica Administrative District, and the Center for Social Work in Vushtrri.
All these institutions with thousands of employees functioned within the Serbian system.
Bonus video:
