Serbs dismantle barricades as Kosovo standoff eases

Members of the Italian Armed Forces, part of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, stand near a roadblock in Rudare, near the northern part of the ethnically-divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo December 29, 2022. REUTERS/Florion Goga

RUDARE, Kosovo (Reuters) -Serbs started dismantling barricades in northern Kosovo on Thursday, hours after Kosovo reopened its main border crossing with Serbia, easing a surge in tensions that has alarmed world powers.

Serbia also ended a three-day-old state of alert for its troops, Tanjug news agency reported, as the sides showed signs of bowing to pressure from the European Union and the United States to step back from a mounting confrontation.