Kosovo authorities on Wednesday raided 10 Belgrade-backed municipal offices in ethnic Serb areas, according to the interior ministry, just weeks ahead of parliamentary elections. The move is the latest in a series of operations and legal manoeuvres aimed at dismantling the so-called parallel system of social services and political offices backed by the Serbian government inside Kosovo. “The era of parallel and criminal municipalities and institutions of Serbia in the Republic of Kosovo ends,” said interior minister Xhelal Svecla in a Facebook post, where he listed the locations of the offices closed, including one in the capital Pristina. The minister said that Serbian post offices and banks were also shuttered during the operation. “As we have pledged, we will not allow any parallelism, let alone criminal, of Serbia to violate the Constitution and the rule of law in our country,” the minister added. The move comes with ethnic tension high in Kosovo ahead of February’s parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Albin Kurti has included his efforts to bridle Belgrade’s remaining institutions based in Kosovo in his campaign platform.