The Mitrovica North municipal council on Friday demanded the opening of the bridge dividing the town into the majority-Serb north and majority-Albanian south, drawing condemnation from Kosovo Serb politicians and Belgrade.

The demand to open the bridge across the Ibar river was submitted by a councilor from Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party even though it was not on the agenda of the meeting. The only Serb on the council voted against it and the demand was adopted by the Albanian majority. The municipal assembly was elected in December in a vote boycotted by the local Serbs.

The bridge has been closed to traffic for years, initially to divide the two communities and prevent incidents. There were demands to reopen it on several occassions. Alternate routes are used between the two parts of the north Kosovo city.

The Serb List condemned the decision, claiming it violates the Brussels Agreement and jeopardizes the peace. A press release warned that the opening of the bridge will lead to incidents which, the Belgrade-backed party said, “seems to be the intention of the authorities in Pristina”. “This is an illegal and illegitimate decision adopted by quasi-councilors with no legitimacy among the population and will have far-reaching consequences to peace, security and cohabitation,” it said and called KFOR, EULEX and the international community to stop the implementation of the decision.

In Belgrade, the head of the government Office for Kosovo Petar Petkovic said the decision shows that Prime Minister Kurti “desires and dreams of war” in all of north Kosovo. A statement quoted him as saying that Kurti ordered his party councilor to propose the opening of the bridge to create new tension and provoke the Kosovo Serbs. He said the opening of the bridge is part of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the decision shows Kurti’sintention to “expel the Serbs from the north of Kosovo”. “Today, the occupation Gauleiter in the north of Kosovo and Metohija Albin Kurti decided, just days after the shameful, false elections, to open the bridge which has been a dam and guardian of the interests of our people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija so that the Albanians in the southern part could take over northern Mitrovica. That has been their idea for years and they want conflicts and to expel the Serbs at any cost,” he said adding that Serbia will do everything in its power to keep the peace but will not allow the expulsion of the Serbs from Kosovo.