Belgrade dissolves Kosovo Serb councils

(BELGRADE) - Belgrade on Tuesday dissolved four Serb-run municipal councils in northern Kosovo for refusing to cooperate with authorities in Pristina.

The councils' Serb leaders had defied appeals by Belgrade to participate in November 3 local elections as part of a landmark EU-brokered deal with Pristina.

Some 40,000 Serbs live in northern Kosovo along the border with Serbia proper, but refuse to recognise Pristina authorities after Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008.

A statement from Belgrade said the government had decided to dissolve the municipal councils until the election to choose mayors and local councillors takes place.

The polls are part of an accord between Belgrade and Pristina reached in April with mediation from Brussels and aimed at normalising ties between the former foes.

Serbia still rejects Kosovo's unilaterally proclaimed independence.

But under the accord, it has agreed to encourage the Serb minority in the breakaway territory to comply with the Pristina authorities, provided they are given a certain level of autonomy.