Serbia announced that it had arrested three Kosovo police officers on its territory this Wednesday, to which Pristina replied that the group had been kidnapped within its borders.
The latest clash between the two sides comes after weeks of tension and unrest in northern Kosovo, which left 30 NATO troops injured at the end of May.
Serbia said police were armed with automatic weapons and full military equipment, including GPS devices, maps and other equipment.
“The attempt by the so-called Kosovo police to invade Serbian territory has been successfully thwarted, which is a terrorist act in all respects,” said a statement on Serbian state broadcaster RTS.
A video posted by Serbian police shows masked men pulling away a group of handcuffed men. Kosovo rejected allegations that the group had been kidnapped.
According to Kosovo police, the group belonged to a border patrol unit and had disappeared after reports of a raid by masked and armed men in the area.
Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla resolutely pointed the finger at Serbia for the group’s abduction. “Criminal Serbia entered the territory of Kosovo and kidnapped three police officers from the Republic of Kosovo, in violation of international standards,” said Xhelal Svecla. “Without a doubt, our police were stationed deep within the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, at a checkpoint, to carry out their duties.”
Tensions between the two countries rose after Pristina’s decision to install ethnic Albanian mayors in four Serb-majority municipalities.
The mayors were elected in April elections and were boycotted by ethnic Serb voters.
This episode is the latest in a long line of incidents that have rocked the region since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nearly a decade after NATO forces helped drive Serb forces out of the former province during a bloody war. which killed about 13,000 people. , mainly Albanians.
Belgrade, along with its main allies China and Russia, refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence, effectively excluding the country from a seat in the United Nations.
Kosovo is mainly populated by ethnic Albanians.
In the northern parts of the territory, close to the border with Serbia, Serbs still form the majority in several municipalities.
For years, Serbia has looked to Kosovo as its spiritual and historical homeland, the scene of pivotal battles over the centuries. Kosovo is home to some of the most important monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Source: DN
