Thousands of Serbs in Kosovo have protested against the ban on the use of the Serbian dinar in the areas where they live and the changeover to the euro.

Tensions escalated after the government of Kosovo, a former Serb province, banned banks and other financial institutions in Serb-populated areas from using the dinar in local transactions as of February 1 and imposed the use of the euro. The dinar was widely used in Serb-dominated areas, especially in northern Kosovo, to pay pensions and salaries in Serb-run institutions.