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Kosovo – UNMIK's North Mitrovica presence

The region north of the river Ibar in the Mitrovica area of Kosovo has been resisting the imposition of Kosovar Albanian control. Its largely Serbian population is quite apprehensive of the extension of Pristina's jurisdiction. UNMIK has stepped in in 2002 to administer northern Mitrovica and provide a crucial liaison between Pristina and the region's Serbs. Gerard Gallucci is arguing in Transconflict that the dismantling of the UNMIK administration there would be disastrous as it would undermine Serbian confidence and create a source of tension and even violence in the region.                                                                                                                                                                                      


Kosovo – UNMIK refuses Quint gambit

Posted on June 18th, 2012  by TransConflict
By Gerard M. Gallucci

The UNMIK Administration of north Mitrovica, established by UNMIK in 2002 to preserve the legal integrity of Kosovo despite the inability of the Kosovo Albanian municipal government in south Mitrovica to govern there, has served since then to preserve links across the two sides of the Ibar River and between the north and the Pristina government. 
But the ICO wants to leave Kosovo this year and is in a hurry to bring the north to heel. However, an UNMIK presence in north Mitrovica – and the other three Serb-majority municipalities in the north – is required under UNSCR 1244 and remains the only available means to peacefully preserve the integrity of Kosovo’s boundaries as recognized by 1244.
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