(Pristina) The hunt for dozens of men suspected of having killed a police officer on Sunday continues Monday evening in northern Kosovo, with Pristina accusing Serbia of harboring some of them.
According to the Kosovar authorities, six fighters crossed into Serbia, and at least four died. They explained that the investigation was continuing, and invited journalists to come and see the arsenal that the police said they had discovered in several places: fatigues, automatic weapons, hundreds of munitions…
It is now a matter of finding the members of the heavily armed commando who spent several hours on Sunday holed up in the Banjska monastery. Weapons were discovered there, according to a press release from the diocese, “abandoned by the men when they retreated”. No trace of blood was discovered at the scene adds the diocese, calling for “calm and peace”.
PHOTO ARMEND NIMANI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Police officers at the entrance to the village of Banjska, where the monastery appears on a poster
Three men were killed on Sunday, and the body of a fourth was found on Monday, according to Kosovo authorities.
Six others would be “treated at Novi Pazar hospital,” said Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla. “We call on Serbia to immediately transfer them to the Kosovo authorities,” he added.
The main political party of the Kosovo Serbs, Srpska Lista, made it clear in a statement cited by Serbian media that at least two Serbian attackers were killed after surrendering, and called on the NATO force (KFOR ) and the European mission Eulex to deploy their troops in the north.
“We will demand an investigation into the murder of at least two Serbs who were killed in cold blood, even if they had surrendered,” adds Srpska Lista.
In Pristina, the flags were at half-mast on Monday – national mourning in tribute to the killed police officer. In the streets, some residents interviewed by AFP blamed Serbia and Russia, like Ramiz Zakuti, for whom Belgrade and Moscow “are seeking to launch the Third World War”.
Kosovo on Sunday morning accused Serbia of being behind the attack – which Belgrade was quick to deny, in turn accusing Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti of having pushed the Kosovo Serbs to the limit with his “provocations”.
This renewed tension, among the most violent since the declaration of independence of Kosovo in 2008, could be yet another obstacle on the road to the “normalization” of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
” De-escalation ”
The European Union on Monday condemned a “terrorist” attack, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on “the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from any action or rhetoric that could escalate tensions”.
The day before, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic insisted that Serbia “will never recognize the independence of Kosovo”. His first Instagram post on Monday morning was a photo of himself with the Russian ambassador to Serbia, captioned: “I’m grateful [à l’ambassadeur Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko] to have heard prayers and requests from the Serbian side. I informed him that a brutal ethnic cleansing is taking place in Kosovo organized by Albin Kurti, with the support of part of the international community.”
Moscow warned on Monday evening that any attempt to aggravate the situation would be likely to drag “the entire Balkan region into a dangerous precipice”. “There is no doubt that the blood shed yesterday [dimanche] is a direct and immediate consequence of the policy of the so-called “Prime Minister Albin Kurti” of inciting conflict,” adds the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Pristina declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nearly 10 years after NATO helped push Serbian forces out of the former province in a bloody war that left around 13,000 people dead. mostly of Albanian origin.
Serbia, supported in particular by its Russian and Chinese allies, has since refused to recognize the independence of Kosovo, where a Serbian community of around 120,000 people lives. Based mainly in the North, some of its members refuse all allegiance to Pristina.
The region has since been the scene of recurring violence, the latest dating back to the spring, when the Kosovar authorities decided to appoint Albanian mayors in four municipalities with a Serbian majority. This measure triggered major demonstrations, the arrest of three Kosovar police officers by Serbia and a riot by Serbian demonstrators which left more than 30 KFOR soldiers injured.
The international community urges both parties to de-escalate. But the latest attempts at discussions between Albin Kurti and Aleksandar Vucic failed in mid-September after just a few hours.