Saudi Arabia and India agree to study feasibility of establishing power grid    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR5.9 billion net profit after Zakat and Income Tax for YTD Q3    Economy minister emphasizes global partnerships to address pressing challenges Private investments in non-oil sector soar 70%    Saudi Arabia's GDP grows 2.8% in Q3, driven by non-oil sectors    PIF, HKMA sign MoU to establish $1 billion investment fund    Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian men to take off clothes as they evacuated war-torn Jabalya    North Korea fires suspected intercontinental missile    India celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights    'It was like a tsunami': Spaniards recount horror of deadly floods    Bahrain Crown Prince receives Saudi Interior Minister    In-person classes will remain suspended in Jeddah, Rabigh and Khulais schools on Thursday    HR Ministry takes penal action against 568 violators of Domestic Workers' Regulation    Derby Week makes its debut in the Roshn Saudi League    Al Nassr eliminated from King's Cup after a defeat to Al Taawoun    Teri Garr, Young Frankenstein and Tootsie star, dies at 79    Othman Al Omeir receives Legacy of Change Medal at the UK Parliament for advocacy in media    Neymar joins Saudi fashion trend, donning traditional attire at Al Hilal match    Indonesia Days event celebrates cultural diversity at Al Suwaidi Park    Saudi Football Federation reappoints Hervé Renard to lead national team    Tarzan star Ron Ely dies aged 86    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Fighter jets scrambled over alleged drone incursion at Serbia-Kosovo border
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 02 - 11 - 2022

Unmarked drones appeared on the Kosovo-Serbia border "observing the barracks and the positions" of the Serbian army, Belgrade authorities claimed, prompting Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to order the country's fighter jets to intercept them.
The drones left the Serbian airspace before the warplanes reached their targets, public broadcaster RTS reported.
Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said in an interview with RTS on Tuesday evening that the drones were spotted while observing one military position on the Serbian side of the border and two barracks, adding that she did not want to speculate on the origin of the unmanned devices.
She emphasized that the order was to shoot down the drones on sight, and the Serbian authorities would be further monitoring the area.
"If these things keep happening, we will take down any such aircraft, just like any other country would," Brnabić added. The drone sightings could not be independently verified.
The news of a drone incursion came after Vučić placed Serbian troops on the border with Kosovo on a heightened state of alert over a row about car license plates that has threatened to further escalate tensions between the two Balkan countries.
Earlier, authorities in Pristina issued a warning demanding that members of the ethnic Serbian minority living in Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, replace their vehicle registration plates with Kosovar ones.
The warning came despite calls from the European Union and the United States to postpone any such requirement.
In response to Kosovo's move, Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vučević said that Vučić, who is the supreme commander of Serbia's armed forces, placed the military in a state of "readiness".
"We are not getting ready for a war, but we must not be unprepared," Vučević said. "We are ready to continue our dialogue with Pristina."
It was not clear what the state of readiness meant in practice. The Serbian leader has been prone to saber rattling when tensions get high with Kosovo, whose independence Belgrade does not recognize.
The EU has told Kosovo and Serbia that the two must normalize ties if they want to advance toward membership in the 27-nation bloc.
Brussels and Washington recently have stepped up mediation efforts, fearing uncertainties over the war in Ukraine and Serbia's close ties with Russia could aggravate matters.
Trouble started brewing in the summer over Serbia's and Kosovo's refusal to recognize each other's identity documents as well as car license plates.
Kosovo Serbs living in the north erected roadblocks, sounded air raid sirens and fired guns into the air in protest of the move.
In June, Kosovo passed a law requiring vehicles with Serbian number plates to replace them with Kosovo ones.
But following pressure from the EU and the US and the tension in the largely Serb-populated north, it agreed to postpone implementation until Nov. 1.
As the measure came into effect Tuesday, Kosovo authorities said enforcement would be gradual.
For the first three weeks in November, drivers who fail to comply will receive warnings. After that, they will be fined, and from late January, only vehicles with new temporary plates will be allowed to circulate.
The final date after which no old license plates will be allowed, and drivers risk the impounding of their vehicles, has been set for April 21.
Kosovo's Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla urged ethnic Serbs Tuesday to comply and not remain "pawns to political interests".
Last week, Sveçla said only 20 Serbs had changed plates. At least three attacks on those who decided to make the switch have been reported, with cars said to have been torched.
Kosovo's 2008 independence has been recognized by most EU countries and the US, while Serbia has relied on support from Russia and China for its bid to retain the former province.
Belgrade lost control over Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombed the country to stop its brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian rebels, following decades of repression by the regime of strongman President Slobodan Milošević.
NATO has a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, and any Serbian military intervention would risk reviving widespread tensions that plunged the Balkans into a series of wars in the 1990s.
Belgrade repeatedly said it planned to respect the 1999 Kumanovo Agreement — which effectively ended the conflict in Kosovo — with the Serbian side withdrawing from its former province and pledging not to enter its territory with its military in the future. — Euronews


Clic here to read the story from its source.