On Sunday, the 24th of September, Serb gunmen with armoured vehicles launched an attack on the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, engaged in a firefight with police and took refuge in a monastery, resulting in the death of four people. The incident marks a resurgence of unrest in the northern region, with officials blaming each other, reports BBC.
The attack started at around 03:00 am local time when Kosovo police arrived in Banjska, where around 30 armed gunmen had barricaded themselves in a monastery near the Serbian border.
According to Kosovo’s Interior Minister, Xhelal Svecla, three of the armed militants were killed in fighting throughout the day during a “clearance operation” and claiming that
the area is under control.
The local authorities said that six people were arrested and it seized a significant number of weapons.
In today’s operation against armed terrorists, @Kosovo_Police confiscated hundreds of weapons, and ammunition, including heavy military equipment such as machine guns, grenades and more. Our police remains in close co-ordination with KFOR & EULEX. The operation is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/PfyXJYIqNw
— Albin Kurti (@albinkurti) September 24, 2023
However, the Serbian Orthodox Church reported that the gunmen had already left the monastery during the night and that a Kosovo police officer had been killed before the monastery was taken.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti attributed the invasion to “Serbian-sponsored criminals”, describing them as “professionals with military and police experience”, financed and motivated by Belgrade.
Serbian President Vucic disputed Serbia’s involvement in the attack, accusing Kurti of months of “provocations”, framing responsibility on Kurti and
accusing him of wanting to start a war with NATO.
Vucic also suggested that there would have been fewer casualties if NATO-led peacekeepers KFOR had intervened.
Kosovo currently has around 4 500 peacekeepers and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell condemned the “heinous attack”, stressing the need to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The monastery attack is a significant escalation of the Kosovo conflict. Kosovo is under severe tension following violent clashes that erupted after the disputed local elections in May.
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