AP: Serbia with military maneuvering amid tensions with Kosovo

The weapons maneuvers that were introduced directly under the motto “The Century of Victors” included 80,000 soldiers, 100 fighter tanks and MiG-29 Russian warplanes, the AP reports.

Tensions in the region have recently risen, with Serbia and Kosovo accusing each other of undermining reconciliation efforts after the 1998-99 war that ended after the NATO intervention.

Serbian officials are particularly concerned by Kosovo's plans to transform its security force into regular army troops. Serbs have warned of undeserved measures to prevent that step and protect the Serb minority in Kosovo “, Coha.net broadcasts.

Backed by its ally Russia, Serbia long ago raised the state of combat readiness of its troops due to several minor incidents. The Serbian Army's intervention in Kosovo would spur a direct clash with NATO peacekeepers stationed in Kosovo.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq, who participated in military exercises held in parts of Serbia, said the Balkan country will reinforce its <x0-> offensive forces with new equipment, including helicopters, 30 combat tanks from Russia and fearing China.

“We are dramatically strengthening our army”, Vuciqi told Serbian public television, RTS. “No one in the region, except perhaps Romania, can compare to us”.

Serbia is often falsely accused of launching World War I after a Serbian teenager, Gavrilo Princip, killed Arkduun Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, promoting several events that eventually led to war.

Serbia lost about half its male population during the four-year war, including 130,000 troops in a series of Balkan battles against a much stronger army. Serbia's suffering is considered the worst losses from any European country during the war in proportion to the size of the population and the military.