KFOR Ends Permanent Post on Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica

Italian Carabinieri removed their tent and static post from the northern half of the main bridge over the Ibar in Kosovska Mitrovica on Tuesday, and the NATO-led Kosovo Force, KFOR, confirmed that this marks the start of a gradual transition of its permanent presence at the site. The bridge has been under the constant guard of foreign forces since 1999, a span of 27 years.

The NATO-led mission confirmed the change in a written response to the KoSSev news outlet. “The NATO-led KFOR mission has begun a gradual transition of KFOR’s permanent presence from the main bridge in Mitrovica,” the response reads. KFOR cited an improved security situation in Kosovo and a broader process of optimizing the deployment of its forces as the reasons.

The Carabinieri remained present on the southern side of the bridge throughout the day, and later began circulating toward the northern bank as well. More Kosovo Police vehicles than usual were observed on the southern side.

What KFOR Confirmed, and What It Did Not

The mission did not confirm that the Kosovo Police is taking over responsibility for security at the Ibar bridge, nor did it specify what the final security arrangement will look like. KFOR did not answer individually when asked about joint patrols with the Kosovo Police, possible involvement by EULEX, or whether the change also extends to the immediate area on the northern side.

The mission says the removal of the static post does not mean it is leaving the area.

KFOR will maintain a visible presence in South and North Mitrovica and in the north of Kosovo.

The process, according to the mission, is being carried out in coordination with Kosovo institutions, the Kosovo Police, EULEX and international organizations. KFOR specifically noted that Milan Mojsilovic, chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, is being informed regularly, while the mission’s commander, Major General Ozkan Ulutas, remains in contact with counterparts in Pristina and with the Serbian Armed Forces. Ulutas had already announced the optimization during a visit to Belgrade on July 23, saying it would proceed gradually and could be reversed if the security situation required it. After that meeting, the Serbian Armed Forces said Mojsilovic had warned that Serbs in Kosovo do not feel safe.

Who Secures the Bridge Now?

The answer KFOR did not give came that evening from the southern side of the bridge, from Kosovo’s acting interior minister, Dzeljalj Sveclja.

Today we are all witnesses to the start of a process in which responsibility for security at the bridge in Mitrovica will pass to the Kosovo Police.

Sveclja described the process as short-term and linked it to opening the bridge to vehicle traffic. Asked whether the Kosovo Police would get its own static post to replace the one KFOR removed, he said the police presence would also shrink as the security situation improves. He did not give a date for removing the barriers that still block vehicles from crossing. “Something that was a source of concern for 27 years, but also a symbol of division, is about to become a memory,” he said.

Commenting on messages coming out of Belgrade, including Pristina’s decision to bar Telekom Srbija director Vladimir Lucic from entering Kosovo, Sveclja said: “Serbia has not changed. It is the same as in 1998-1999, the same as in previous years. But Kosovo is no longer the same.”

Serbian List Demands a Halt

Serbian List requested an urgent meeting with Ulutas that same day and objected to any withdrawal or reduction of KFOR’s presence at the bridge.

That is why Serbian List has requested an urgent meeting with the KFOR commander, at which we want to convey the serious concern of the Serbian people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija and our demand that this activity be halted.

The party’s statement says the bridge area has been a site of tension and conflict for decades. It specifically objects to a greater role for the Kosovo Police, arguing that the force has not built trust within the Serbian community.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told RTS that evening that Belgrade had reacted. “Because they wanted to open the Ibar bridge in Mitrovica to traffic, and that is why our intervention followed,” he said. He did not specify who “they” referred to or how Belgrade had intervened.

Seven Bridges Across the Ibar

The main bridge has remained open to pedestrians throughout and closed to vehicles. After Kosovo authorities failed in their attempt to open it to traffic in 2024, Pristina began building new crossings instead: a new road bridge opened on August 26, 2025, followed by a pedestrian bridge, bringing the number of bridges between North and South Mitrovica to seven. Another four-lane road bridge is under construction near Zabar.

That same day, KFOR also announced it had begun gradually bringing the Kosovo Police into the security structure around the Visoki Decani monastery, with an explicit caveat that KFOR remains the first security responder for the monastery. No such caveat appeared in KFOR’s response regarding the main bridge.