The Government of Kosovo confirmed an attack, which continues, in which armed men are confronting a group of police officers, this Sunday, September 24. So far it has left one police officer dead and three injured. Three attackers have died and four have been arrested. The authorities of that southeastern European country attribute this attack to Serbia, stoking old tensions between the two countries.
Residents of the village of Banjska, 55 kilometers (35 miles) north of the capital, Pristina, woke up in the night to the sound of gunfire and explosions, according to Kosovo Serbian media.
The story is complemented by the statement of the Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, who confirmed that 30 armed men opened fire on a police patrol at 3 in the morning. Kosovo police claim that the attackers then drove in armored vehicles to a Serbian Orthodox church in the diocese of Rasaka-Prizren, where they barricaded themselves.
“It was a real small war: first some shots, then silence, shootings, explosions,” said an unidentified resident, quoted by the Serbian news agency Kossev and reproduced by AP.
Regarding the incident, Xhelal Svecla, Minister of the Interior of Kosovo, reported this Sunday that a group of about 30 people opened fire on members of the Kosovo police, killing one of them and wounding another. The attack occurred in Banjska, a village located in the north of the country.
The attack, which still persists, comes from a professionally prepared unit of more than 30 people uniformed, masked and militarily equipped with armored vehicles and different heavy weapons, Minister Svecla assured.
The Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, assured that this attack was carried out by “criminals sponsored by Serbia”, a statement that fuels tension between both countries, former enemies that faced each other between 1998 and 1999, in a conflict that left thousands dead.
“Organized crime, which has the political, financial and logistical support of Belgrade, is attacking our State,” Prime Minister Kurti said on his Facebook account.
Through a statement Published in the Pristina newspaper Koha Ditore, Kosovo police confirmed that three attackers have died and four have been detained. Earlier, in another statement, the security force announced that it closed the Jarinje and Brnjak border crossings with Serbia, as a precautionary measure.
For his part, Vjosa Osmani, Kosovo president, who is in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, denounced the murder and stated: “Such attacks demonstrate once again the destabilizing power of criminal gangs organized from Serbia that during long time… they are destabilizing Kosovo and the region.
The Kosovo government’s regional communities minister, Nenad Rasic, said NATO forces in Kosovo, KFOR, are on the ground and are trying to mediate between the two sides.
And a Reuters journalist claims he could see NATO troops, along with members of the European Union (EU) police force EULEX and Kosovo police, patrolling the road leading to Banjska after the incident.
Meanwhile, in Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia, that country’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, is expected to address the public this Sunday to “expose Kurti’s lies,” verbatim words used by local media.
The reactions of the EU, the United States and the UN
The foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, condemned “the horrific attack by an armed gang against Kosovo police officers” and said that “it is necessary to clarify all the facts about the attack. Those responsible must be brought to justice.”
Miroslav Lajcak, EU envoy for talks between Kosovo and Serbia, also condemned the “horrible attack” and reiterated the call “to immediately return to dialogue.”
For his part, the US ambassador in Pristina also “strongly” condemned the attacks against the police and added that “the Kosovo police have the full and legitimate responsibility to enforce the rule of law in accordance with the constitution and laws.” of Kosovo.”
The head of the UN mission in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, expressed her deep regret over the death of the police officer and also joined in rejecting the attack.
Basic ABCs of the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia
The war in Serbia and its former province, Kosovo, between 1998 and 1999 left at least 10,000 dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Once that conflict ended, tensions have persisted to this day.
The issue has been independence. Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognize it as a country, even though 100 other states have done so.
Since 1999, at the end of the war, the United Nations deployed its blue case group to ensure calm. However, in May of this year, due to clashes between Serbs when they tried to take public buildings by force, 93 peacekeepers were injured. This is how the escalation of this long-standing tension began to be felt.
Another factor has been the creation of the Association of Serbian Majority Municipalities (ASM), which aims to coordinate the work of Serbian-dominated municipalities on issues such as education, health and economic development. Kosovo denounced that the ASM is another effort by Belgrade to create a Serbian mini-state with broad autonomy.
In February 2023, the EU presented a 10-point plan to end political tensions. Although Kurti and Vucic gave their approval, some reservations arose that have not yet been resolved.
The EU warned both countries that the commitments Serbia and Kosovo made in February “are binding on them and play a role in the parties’ European path,” facing the possibility of joining the 27-nation bloc.
With EFE, Reuters and AP.
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