Kosovo has reopened its largest border crossing with Serbia, hours after Serb protesters in the north pledged to remove the roadblocks, Reuters reported.

Serbs in northern Kosovo who have been erecting roadblocks since Dec. 10 to protest the arrest of a former Serbian policeman agreed to begin dismantling them after he was transferred to house arrest.

On Thursday morning, many of the roadblocks were still in place, though officials said the process could take some time.

Some 50,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo refuse to recognize Pristina's government or Kosovo's status as a separate country.

Kosovo police said they have reopened the Merdare crossing - the most important crossing for truck traffic, linking the state to Western European countries - after roadblocks were removed on the Serbian side of the border.

Two other border crossings with Serbia in northern Kosovo have remained closed since Dec. 10.