According to Reuters, gunfire was heard in an area in northern Kosovo where a patrol was ambushed, killing a police officer and hours later at least 30 gunmen were surrounded by authorities.
Earlier on Sunday, a police officer was killed and another injured in a shooting in the village of Banjska, the first such violence in months. Prime Minister Albin Kurti claimed the incidents were supported by officials in neighboring Serbia.
“At least 30 professional, military or police armed personnel were surrounded by our police forces and I invite them to surrender to our security agencies,” Kurti told a news conference.
At 3am (01:00 GMT) on Sunday, “masked professionals armed with heavy weapons” opened fire on the Banjska village of Leposavic, 55 kilometers (35 miles) north of the capital Pristina. police patrol opened fire.
Kurti earlier wrote on his Facebook page: “Organized crime, with political, financial and logistical support from Belgrade, is attacking our country.”
“The Government of the Republic of Kosovo and its state institutions are prepared and coordinated to respond to crimes and criminals, terrorist acts and terrorists.”
Kosovo police added that two trucks without license plates blocked a bridge at the entrance to the village. Three police units were sent to clear the area but came under attack from different locations and with different weapons, grenades and bombs.
Police successfully repelled the attack and took two injured police officers away from a hospital in southern Mitrovica. Doctors said one of them was dead on arrival.
Kosovo leader Vjosa Osmani, who was attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, condemned the killings and “an attack on the sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo.”
“These attacks once again demonstrate the destabilizing power of Serbian criminal gangs, who have long destabilized Kosovo and the region,” she said.
Europe
Where is Kosovo?
Kosovo is a landlocked country in southeastern Europe, bordering Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move that Serbia rejected. (Al Jazeera)
Serbia has yet to comment on the incident and accusations.
Tensions have been building in the former Serbian province for months after Kosovo decided in May to appoint ethnic Albanian mayors in four Serb-majority cities.
The decision triggered clashes that injured more than 90 NATO peacekeepers and about 50 Serb protesters in northern Kosovo.
Albanians account for more than 90% of Kosovo’s population, and only in the northern region near the Serbian border are Serbs the majority. They plan to establish a Serb-majority municipal association in this area.
EU-sponsored talks to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, two wartime foes, stalled again last week. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused Kurti of failing to create an association of Serb-majority cities that would give them more autonomy.
In February, the EU proposed a ten-point plan to end months of political crisis. At the time, Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic agreed, but some reservations remained unresolved.
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2023-09-24 13:47:51
