Serbian army base opens near border with Kosovo

Serbia on Monday opened its largest army base Jug (South) located near Bujanovac, just few kilometers off the border with Kosovo.

Serbia’s top military and state officials attended the opening ceremony. The base is located some 30 kilometers off the border between Macedonia and Serbia. Local Albanian politicians warned of unnecessary militarization of the region.

The construction of the South base began in 2003. The base .covers 35 hectares of land, with capacities to accommodate almost 1,000 soldiers. It is located some 5 kilometers south of Bujanovac in southern Serbia, near the ground safety zone.

Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said the base will become a center for the UN-led peace operations training.

The southern Serbian region, also known as Presevo Valley, is home to the country’s largest ethnic Albanian minority. Clashes between Serbian security forces and Albanian extremist groups erupted in 2001, as Albanians wanted to add southern Serbia to Kosovo.