At least six suspected assailants who allegedly participated within the latest lethal clashes in northern Kosovo have been now in Serbia receiving therapy, Kosovo’s inside minister claimed Monday.
The accusation got here a day after the killing of a police officer throughout an ambush and an ensuing firefight at a monastery close to the border with Serbia marked one of many gravest escalations in Kosovo for years.
“Six wounded terrorists are being treated in the hospital of Novi Pazar and we ask Serbia to immediately hand them over to the Kosovo authorities, so they can face justice,” Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla advised reporters, referring to a metropolis in southern Serbia.
Earlier Monday, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated a police operation was ongoing.
The web site of the firefight was sealed as investigators sifted by means of proof following a late-night gun battle that noticed the standoff finish when authorities stormed the monastery within the village of Banjska.
“Many things will be resolved during the investigations,” Kurti advised Manuel Sarrazin, the German envoy for the Western Balkans, throughout a gathering Monday.
The chaotic confrontation started when a police patrol was ambushed close to Banjska early Sunday, leaving one Kosovo regulation enforcement officer lifeless and one other wounded.
The gunmen fled to a close-by monastery, the place they barricaded themselves in and traded gunfire with Kosovo police for hours. At least 4 assailants have been killed within the melee.
Earlier Monday, Svecla stated authorities had already recovered “an exceptionally massive variety of heavy weapons, anti-infantry weapons, explosives, uniforms, logistics, meals reserves and tools for barricades.
“We can easily say that the equipment was destined for several hundred other assailants,” Svecla added.
‘Very, very tense’
The major Serb political occasion in Kosovo, Srpska Lista, stated in an announcement distributed to Serbian press that a minimum of two Serb assailants have been killed after surrendering, and referred to as on NATO and the European Union to deploy their troops.
“We will demand an investigation into the death of at least two Serbs killed in cold blood,” Srpska Lista stated.
In the capital, Pristina, flags flew at half-mast throughout an official day of mourning to honor police officer Afrim Bunjaku, killed Sunday.
Questions remained, nevertheless, hours after the standoff ended. Just a handful of alleged suspects have been arrested by Kosovo authorities throughout the clearance operation.
Asked if any assailants managed to flee from the Banjska monastery, Svecla stated an “operation” was ongoing however provided no extra particulars.
On Sunday, Kurti stated a minimum of 30 closely armed and uniformed males had barricaded themselves in on the monastery, which was “surrounded” by police.
Newspapers in Serbia on Monday quoted feedback Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made late Sunday, denying involvement within the clashes and blaming the incident on the federal government in Pristina.
On Monday, Vucic met Russia’s ambassador to Serbia in Belgrade.
The Kremlin later blamed Kosovo for the violence, warning that the “bloodshed” might escalate, bringing “the entire Balkan region to a dangerous precipice.”
“There is a direct threat of the resumption of the ethnic cleansing previously practiced by Kosovo Albanian radicals,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to as on Kosovo and Serbia to keep away from any actions or language that might additional inflame the scenario.
“The perpetrators of this crime must be held accountable via a transparent investigative process,” Blinken stated.
Escalation
The assault got here greater than every week after talks between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on bettering ties didn’t make a breakthrough throughout EU-mediated negotiations in Brussels.
Tensions within the troubled north of Kosovo have been smoldering for months, following the Pristina authorities’s determination in May to put in ethnic Albanian mayors in 4 Serb-majority municipalities there.
The transfer triggered one of many worst bouts of unrest within the north in years.
Demonstrations adopted, in addition to the arrest by Serbia of three Kosovar cops and a riot by Serb protesters which noticed greater than 30 NATO peacekeepers injured.
The conflict within the north is simply the most recent incident to rock the world since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Belgrade – and key allies China and Russia – have refused to acknowledge Kosovo’s independence.
Source: www.dailysabah.com