According to B92 news agency, Ivica Dacic, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, told reporters in the Serbian town of Arilje on Sunday night that KFOR's removal of barricades in the northern Kosovo would be counterproductive.

KFOR is the acronym used to describe NATO's peacekeeping troops in northern Kosovo.

Dacic said that talks on the issue should be continued, because, he argued, it would be better to reach an agreement this way than by through the use of force. He also said that it would be hypocritical to tell people patrolling the barricades what to do.

The peacekeeping force last week requested that the barricades, which number 16, be removed over the weekend. On Sunday, this deadline was extended until the end of Monday.

“The representatives of the municipalities of Leposavic, Mitrovica North, Zubin Potok and Zvecan asked for more time and COMKFOR has decided to give them an additional day,” a press release from KFOR stated on Sunday evening.

“COMKFOR appreciates their willingness to open the roads for supplying KFOR troops at Gate 1 (Jarinje), Gate 31 (Brnjak) and Camp Nothing Hill,” stated the press release.

On Monday morning, KFOR soldiers in Mitrovica began handing out leaflets to all those who crossed the Ibar river, calling on them not to take part in any activity that might endanger their life.

The leaflets show a picture of a barricade with a Serb flag in it, and to the side an empty store as a result of the baricades blocking trade routes.

On the back of the leaflet, a message is printed stating: “Please do not participate in activities which may endanger the safety and have a negative impact in your daily life.”

In the ongoing dispute about two customs points in northern Kosovo, local Kosovo Serbs have blocked main roads in the area with 16 roadblocks.