[JURIST] Bosnian Serb lawmakers have backed a resolution calling Kosovo's declaration of independence [text; JURIST report] from Serbia illegal and threatening to call a referendum on their own possible separation from the amalgamated state of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). The resolution, passed late Thursday by the People's Assembly of Republika Srpska [official website], cautioned that recognition of Kosovo would set an international precedent. US Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Charles English [official profile] described talk of sovereignty as an 'irresponsible and unconstitutional concept.' Reuters has more.

Serbs in northern Kosovo, meanwhile, have been preventing Albanians from crossing the Ibar River into the Serbian part of the divided town of Mitrovica, potentially setting the stage for their own separation from the new entity. A spokesperson for the NATO-led KFOR [official website] said its forces are 'fully able and ready to prevent any clashes between Serbs and Albanians.' The Daily Telegraph has more.