Serbia places its troops on Kosovo border on combat alert

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Serbia has placed its security troops on the border with Kosovo on “the full state of combat readiness,” ignoring NATO’s calls for calming tensions between the two wartime Balkan foes. Serbia’s Interior Minister said Monday he  has “ordered the full combat readiness” of police and other security units and that they be placed under army command. He said he acted on the orders of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic so that “all measures be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo.” It wasn’t clear what the order meant on the ground. Serbia doesn’t recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence, and fears of violence have soared since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.