Thousands of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo protested on Thursday, demanding the government withdraw police from the north of the country, where the Serb minority is concentrated, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

The protest took place in the village of Rudare, a few kilometers from the city of Mitrovica, which is ethnically divided between the Serbian minority and the ethnic Albanian majority.

Serbs have erected nine roadblocks in northern Kosovo since December 10 following the arrest of a former Serbian policeman who allegedly attacked police during earlier protests.

The main road in Mitrovica is still blocked by heavy equipment.

On Thursday, protesters unfurled a 250-meter flag of Serbia. The action was monitored remotely by Italian soldiers from the NATO peacekeeping mission.

Tensions have risen in northern Kosovo, home to more than a third of the 120,000 Kosovo Serbs, as Pristina announced its intention to hold elections in Serb-majority municipalities after the resignation of all Serb elected officials and police in the area. The Kosovo authorities finally postponed the elections to April.

The NATO-led Kosovo Peacekeeping Force (KFOR) has increased its presence in the north by sending additional troops and patrols.

On Wednesday, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic warned that the situation in Kosovo is “on the verge of an armed conflict.”