Life in the multi-ethnic settlement of Brdjani has been difficult and uncertain since the arrival of special units

The multi-ethnic settlement Brdjani in North Mitrovica is a part of the city where for more than 20 years there have been attempts to revive the multi-ethnicity and coexistence of Serbs and Albanians. The latest arrival of special units of the Kosovo Police has introduced a new gap and mistrust among the population.

During the visit to the Serbs, who live in this part of the city, our team passed through several points where there are up to 10 members of the police, and in addition to the patrol units, there are also special units armed with long barrels.

In the settlement of Brdjani, there is no intersection where a police vehicle is not parked. At first glance, it can be seen that the citizens who gathered around our team are upset and scared because of such a large number of police officers.

Vesna Andrejevic, who lives in the Brdjani settlement, says that her life was as difficult as that of other citizens of North Mitrovica, as she adds, perhaps even more difficult.

"We live in the area we live in and around Mitrovica their soldiers and policemen are. It has not been pleasant in the last few days, we do not have any problems, no one touches us, but it is not pleasant when we see them with long barrels .We like to walk it's nice to walk, now no one walks anymore we all go by car. This is a neighborhood full of children, now there is no one, although they like to go out to play, the parents don't allow the children to play, because they don't feel safe. I don't know why the police are there, nothing has ever happened to the Albanians here. Sava Mojsic was killed at this intersection here. Our children were hit by cars several times, I don't know if anyone was ever found or arrested, and I don't know if any Albanian here experienced something bad from us. KFOR can come to protect them and us. After all the statements, we know that nothing good awaits us if they protect us and how they will protect us. KFOR failed to save the churches, not to mention the people when they were expelled in 2004," Andrejevic said.

Nikola Ciric says that the citizens do not feel security but fear since the arrival of the Albanian policemen from the south of Kosovo.

"Since they have been there, there has been a fear that something will happen. We don't let the children move freely, or play. They don't make us feel safe, they are armed at night and point guns at every pass we make. We, as residents of this settlement, were brought to the point where we have nowhere to go. We are fighting for peace and stability, but they don't want peace and stability," Ciric says.

We can see that there is distrust among the neighbors at the moment from the behavior of the Albanians with the arrival of the special forces from the stations from the south of Kosovo. The owner of a nearby store, Natasa Cosic, says that her Albanian neighbors used to buy from her every day, but since the arrival of the special forces, they have not visited the store, even though there were no problems before.

"I've never had a problem with my neighbors, they even come to my house and we talk nicely, we helped some and gave medicine and advice when they complained that something hurt them. Ever since the ROSU special forces came, they don't come anymore, I really don't know if they do not want or they are afrid to come," she told us.

There is a handwritten note on the door of the store that the store operates on reduced hours, and Cosic says that the hours are reduced for safety reasons.

"It's dark, there are no street lights, there are ROSU special forces around us, I'm not sure, people retreat into the house whether they want to or not, I have to take shelter too. The night is calm and tense, there is no house where someone is not on duty at night to prevent someone from causing incident", Cosic says and adds that she is not afraid, but that she does not care when she sees so many armed people everywhere.

People pass by numerous patrols with fear and caution, armed groups of policemen are on every corner, five to 10 policemen, at least one of whom always has a rifle in his hand, contribute to the fact that people are looking to avoid them and avoid meeting them, although it is almost impossible.

Dragana Miljkovic claims that her child is sick and has a migraine, and that her headaches are becoming more frequent due to the stress she experiences every day, because there are police officers at every corner of their house.

"You've seen it yourself, do you think it's safe for our children to pass here every morning? Every morning I go to work at half past six here, I pass policemen armed to the teeth. I'm afraid for my daughter, we should take her to Belgrade, she has a migraine "It's probably because of this situation, she often has a headache," Dragana told us worriedly.

Our team has seen for itself that the Brdjani settlement is completely militarized, police vehicles and off-road jeeps patrol the streets where police officers stand every 50 to 100 meters and follow every step of the population. Citizens do not hide that they are worried, but they also point out that they do not want to leave their homes, because as they say, this is nothing but pressure to cause fear in the people and make them move away on their own.