The northern Kosovar city of Mitrovica is essentially a divided city, one that reflects the bitter divisions between Serbs and Albanians in the region. FRANCE 24’s Cyril Vanier and Franck Berruyer visited one of Mitrovica’s last mixed neighbourhoods, where Serbs and Albanians continue to co-exist amid rising tensions since Kosovo’s Feb. 17 declaration of independence.

“There’s no problem here, everyone comes to get their bread here” says Pajtim, a 17-year-old Albanian who bakes bread for Serbs in the area. The baker’s 13-year-old Serbian neighbour is aware of the ongoing crisis, but remains a loyal friend. “I know Albanians got an independent Kosovo, now we are protesting, what does it mean for us? I don’t know,” he says.

The signs on the walls in the neighbourhood are a reflection of the violent clashes between Serbs and Albanians in 1999. Most of the Albanian residents have left but a few say they will return. “We’re reconstructing many houses, the Albanians will return,” a resident told France 24.

But in certain parts of the neighbourhood, Albanians are not welcome. A local basketball team said they intend to keep their basketball court a Serb-only zone. “We don’t like Albanian boys, they want Kosovo, and we’re not going to give it to them,” said a 15-year-old.

There are about 70 Albanian families still living in this neighbourhood.

Zorica is a Serb, born in Kosovo, raised in Bosnia. She thought she would earn a living running a corner shop owned by an Albanian. But since Kosovo's independence, customers are scarce. After independence, this Albanian school near Zorica's shop had to close, for lack of teachers.

There's no date or when it will reopen. And if Albanian students can't go to class, Mitrovica's last multiethnic neighbourhood could fast disappear.