On the third day since the start of the conflict in Banjska, the Kosovo Police operation to conduct searches, ground checks and search for weapons and other equipment ended. After three days, the Kosovo police unblocked the road leading to the village of Banjska.
Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police Veton Elshani said that even though the operation is over, the decision on “what’s next” will only be made after 9 a.m. tomorrow. He explained that they would decide whether or not to allow free movement, including entry and exit from the village of Banjska, for everyone and not just residents. This decision will be made by Pristina.
Kosovo Police, including its special units, will continue to remain in the village tonight. As part of the now-completed operation, police confiscated a significant amount of weapons, ammunition and other equipment, including more than 20 vehicles, on Sunday and the following day.
Early on Sunday morning, in the village of Banjska, municipality of Zvečan, a Kosovo Police sergeant was killed in an ambush and two police officers were injured.
Meanwhile, the main news shifted to clashes between armed, masked attackers and Kosovo police, which lasted until the evening. According to Kosovo Police reports, on Sunday the bodies of at least three suspected attackers were killed or found, and two others were arrested, one of whom was injured.
Additionally, on the same day, four other people suspected of being associated with this group were arrested. Yesterday evening, two other individuals were arrested in a hotel in the village of Banjska, after the discovery of weapons suspected of being linked to this group.
List of Serbian vice-president among the attackers?
The head of Kosovo’s Interior Ministry, Xhelal Svecla, released a video on Tuesday showing Milan Radojičić, vice-president of the Serbian List (SL), in camouflage and heavily armed. In the video, a group of ten people in uniform can be seen in front of the lower guest house of the Banjska Monastery.
“The person in the videos below is Milan Radoičić, the vice-president of Srpska Lista, who has also been blacklisted by the United States and the United Kingdom. Chief criminal Radoicic was the leader of this terrorist group and the attack in which police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed. This is another proof of his terrorist activity against the Republic of Kosovo. The vice president of SL is the leader of a terrorist attack and a group of terrorists,” Svecla wrote, repeating yesterday’s allegations.
He added that “the road map of terrorism is becoming clearer day by day.”
Although Svecla made allegations about Radojičić’s alleged presence within this group during a press conference yesterday, during which a large quantity of weapons and vehicles were shown in Banjska, he published this video only after Srpska Lista announced a three-day mourning period in Banjska. Serb communities in Kosovo due to the death of three Serbs named as attackers. This minister stressed that “the declaration of a day of mourning by SL and the State of Serbia” proves that they are behind this.
The Serbian List has not yet responded to Pristina’s accusations that its vice-president was involved in the operation in the vicinity of Banjska. In a statement, they expressed their condolences to the families of the victims and declared a three-day mourning period in Serbian-majority municipalities.
After Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s speech on Sunday evening, Serbian authorities did not provide any information about what happened on Sunday in Banjska. Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić reiterated, as did the President of Serbia, that Albin Kurti is solely responsible for everything that happened, adding that the video showing Milan Radojičić is an invention of Pristina.
“Here we are trying to prove that Milan Radojičić or Zvonko Veselinović are responsible for these actions. They would prefer to find Mojsilović (Chief of Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces) because they need a connection with Belgrade,” Dačić said.
Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vučević accused KFOR of allowing “Albanian police to kill Serbs.”
“KFOR has a base nearby and could have reacted. They appear to have stood aside and allowed the well-deployed Albanian police to continue hunting Serbs in the Banjska area. We hope that KFOR will play a more active role, and not a observer on the hill watching Albanian police killing Serbs,” the minister said.
The Serbian government met in an extraordinary session on Tuesday to declare September 27 a day of mourning following what a press release described as tragic events in Kosovo.
KFOR: Kosovo police reacted in accordance with law enforcement prerogatives
KFOR said on Tuesday that Kosovo police in Banjska intervened in accordance with their law enforcement prerogatives. “KFOR troops were present in the area. They closely monitored the situation and stood ready to respond if necessary,” KFOR said in a press release.
He added that the Kosovo Police, EULEX and KFOR were acting in close coordination.
“The KFOR Commander remains in regular contact with all stakeholders, including EULEX, representatives of Kosovo institutions and Kosovo security organizations, as well as the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces,” the statement said. communicated.
He said that, through KFOR, NATO would always take all necessary measures to maintain a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo, “in an impartial manner and in accordance with our mandate based on 1999 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.”
“KFOR will also continue to provide the security framework necessary for the progress of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. The EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is the only way to resolve outstanding issues and achieve a lasting solution that respects the rights of all communities,” KFOR said.