Tensions in north Kosovo – whose agenda does the flare-up serve?

Kosovo police officers patrol an area in the northern part of the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica [File: Florion Goga/Reuters]

Tensions in Serb-populated northern Kosovo – a flashpoint in the Western Balkans for decades – have risen in recent weeks.

On December 10, a stun grenade was thrown at a reconnaissance patrol from the European Union’s rule of law mission in Kosovo.