Several civil society organizations from northern Kosovo have called on KFOR to assume full responsibility for monitoring security arrangements in the north, to increase its physical and operational presence, and to establish preventive mechanisms to stop any “unauthorized activities by armed formations.”
Their appeal comes after a convoy of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) briefly entered North Mitrovica on Thursday morning — reportedly by mistake.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m., several KSF armored vehicles crossed the Ibar Bridge from South Mitrovica to North Mitrovica, driving along Knjaz Miloš Street and part of King Peter Street, before stopping at a gas station near the police station.
At first, some residents thought the vehicles belonged to KFOR, but it soon became clear that they were KSF units. The sight caused alarm, and some drivers honked their horns in protest.
“They took the wrong turn”
Deputy Regional Police Commander for the North, Veton Elshani, confirmed to KoSSev that the vehicles did indeed belong to the KSF.
He said that the units stopped at the gas station for about five minutes, explaining that they had “gotten lost.”
“Police officers saw them, approached, and asked what was happening. They replied that they had ‘made a mistake’ and thought they were in South Mitrovica,” Elshani said.
Kosovo’s Ministry of Defense later issued a statement confirming the incident, claiming that during the movement of a KSF convoy from Istok to their barracks in South Mitrovica, the units “took the wrong direction.”
No further details were provided.
KFOR has not yet commented on the incident or responded to KoSSev’s inquiry sent earlier today.
Under existing arrangements, KSF units cannot enter the north without explicit authorization from the KFOR Commander.
Civil Sector: Explanation “Unacceptable”
Northern Kosovo civil society groups described the official explanation as “unacceptable,” saying it raises serious concerns among citizens and exposes “a profound lack of institutional control and transparency in the area of security.”
They recalled that this was not the first time KSF units have appeared in the north under “explanations whose credibility is highly questionable,” warning that such incidents deepen insecurity among local communities and reflect a “systemic failure in the supervision and coordination of security structures, as well as the continued politicization of security institutions.”
“Under the existing provisions of the Brussels Agreement and the mandate defined by the United Nations Security Council, KFOR bears the primary responsibility for overseeing and ensuring the security regime in northern Kosovo.
Today’s event clearly demonstrates that KFOR’s current operational capacity and model of presence are not adequately adapted to the actual security risks and dynamics on the ground,” they said.
The organizations warned that KFOR’s lack of adequate response undermines citizens’ trust in international guarantees and contributes to tensions in an already fragile environment.
They urged KFOR to:
• Assume full responsibility for monitoring the implementation of security arrangements in northern Kosovo;
• Increase the physical and operational presence of its units in northern municipalities;
• Establish clear preventive mechanisms to prevent any unauthorized activities by armed
formations, including the Kosovo Security Forces, in this part of the territory.
“Stability and security cannot rest on ‘strayed’ units, excuses, and their subsequent political misuse, but on trust, professionalism, and consistent implementation of international obligations,” the statement concludes.
The appeal was signed by the Center for Affirmative Social Actions (CASA), Aktiv, the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC), the Institute for Territorial Economic Development (InTER), and the New Social Initiative (NSI).
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