Kosovo Urges Serbia to Hand Over Assailants Involved in Deadly Siege
Kosovo has called on Serbia to extradite all individuals linked to a shootout between Kosovar police and ethnic Serb gunmen that resulted in four fatalities in the restive north of the country. Last Sunday, a small village in northern Kosovo was plunged into terror as around 30 armed attackers blocked a road and stormed an Orthodox monastery, initiating gun battles throughout the area. Three gunmen were killed, and one police officer died while two others were injured in the skirmish. The attackers, who were dressed in military attire and wearing masks, took shelter in a Serbian Orthodox monastery, where they allegedly held monks and pilgrims hostage.
The clash began when two trucks without license plates blocked a bridge leading to Banjska in the early morning hours on Sunday. Upon the police’s arrival, heavy weapons fire, including hand grenades and unguided anti-tank munitions, was launched at them. Following the incident, Kosovo police confiscated a significant number of weapons and equipment, including armored vehicles, SUVs, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, hand grenades, mortars, and explosive materials. Prime Minister Albin Kurti placed blame on Serbia, accusing organized criminal groups with support from Belgrade of orchestrating the attack.
According to Kosovo’s ambassador to the U.S., Ilir Dugolli, there are allegations suggesting that Russia’s Wagner Group may have been involved in the assault. However, it is currently unverified and has been dismissed by KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeeping mission operating in Kosovo. Nonetheless, Ambassador Dugolli argues that the attackers have connections to Belgrade. Former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler stated that preliminary intelligence analysis indicates a link between the assailants and Serbian special forces and Russian military intelligence.
Koffler also warned of Russian interference, emphasizing that neither Russia nor Serbia recognize Kosovo’s independence, and their long-term goal is to reverse the situation. She speculates that Russia and Serbia may be collaborating to ignite another conflict between Serbs and Albanians in order to justify the deployment of Serbian forces. Ambassador Dugolli further claimed that documents related to a notorious criminal and vice-leader of the leading Serbian political party in Kosovo, Milan Radojcic, were seized during the police operation. This, along with suspects finding shelter in Serbia, suggests the involvement of Serbian authorities who refuse to extradite those responsible for the attack.
Serbia’s ambassador to the U.S., Marko Djuric, expressed condolences to the victims’ families but placed the responsibility for the bloodshed on Prime Minister Kurti. Djuric accused Kurti’s government of failing to respect agreements, mistreating the Serb population in the north, and acting irresponsibly. The Serbian Orthodox Church also condemned the violence and called for peace and order to be maintained.
The conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, stemming from the 1999 war, remains unresolved and hampers their progress toward European integration. The tensions between the two nations have escalated, resulting in a deadlock in the ongoing normalization talks. Kurti rejected the latest EU proposal, demanding that Serbia recognize Kosovo as independent before any progress could be made. This defiance of previously signed agreements has complicated the situation and is likely to lead to further disagreements.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
