President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, during a meeting with the US Ambassador Jefri Hovenier, today expressed the hope that "sanctions will be imposed on Serbia for direct participation in the attack on members of the Kosovo Police in the north".
In the announcement of the cabinet of the president of Kosovo, it is stated that "she and Hovenier discussed the security situation after the terrorist attack in the north of the country".
According to her, the Serbian state should be held responsible for the attack in which Kosovo police sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed.
"The president pointed out that the Serbian side should be held responsible for this terrorist attack and act of aggression by Serbia. She also said that she hopes that, after the allied countries have completed the internal procedures for confirming information related to the latest attack on Kosovo, they will take concrete steps measures and sanctions against Serbia, due to its direct participation in that attack, either as an initiator, organizer or facilitator," the announcement states.
It is added that Ambassador Hovenier once again expressed his condolences for the murder of a Kosovo policeman.
For her part, Vjosa Osmani thanked the allies, above all the USA, for their support and solidarity after the murder of police sergeant, hero of Kosovo Afrim Bunjaku, as well as for the cooperation and support of the security institutions during this event at a time when the security of Kosovo was seriously threatened.
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Kosovo's Interior Minister Dzeljalj Svećlja said that the Serbs who clashed with the police "planned to destabilize the North and then to declare autonomy near the Ibar River."
Svećlja said that the vice-president of the Serbian List, Milan Radoičić, "is most likely in the Military Hospital in Belgrade", the Kallxo portal reports.
"Yes, Radoičić is probably in the Military Hospital in Belgrade. He is not alone there. There are also wounded in the hospital in Novi Pazar, a city near the border with Kosovo," he said in an interview with Euronews.
He repeated that "he will demand that those who participated in the conflict with the Kosovo police, whether injured or not, be handed over to the Kosovo authorities".
Kfor announced that the Kosovo Police intervened in Banjska in accordance with their law enforcement powers.
"KFOR troops were present in the area, carefully monitoring the situation and were ready to react if necessary," they stated, reports N1.
They added that the Kosovo Police, EULEX and KFOR acted in close coordination.
"The commander of KFOR remains in regular contact with all parties, including EULEX, representatives of Kosovo institutions and security organizations, and the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces," emphasized KFOR.
They emphasized that NATO, through KFOR, will always undertake all necessary actions to maintain a safe environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo, "impartially and in accordance with the mandate based on Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council from 1999".
"KFOR will also continue to provide the security framework necessary for the EU-mediated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina to progress. Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, with the mediation of the EU, is the only way to resolve open issues and to achieve a lasting solution that respects the rights of all communities," the statement concluded.
Derek Šole, adviser to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, announced that he spoke with Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić after the attack on the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo on Sunday.
"I strongly condemned the violence against members of the Kosovo Police and expressed my condolences on the death of Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku. Both sides must return to the dialogue, which is mediated by the European Union, and apply the obligations agreed in Ohrid," wrote Šole in a post on the social network X (X) - in which he called the attack on members of the Kosovo police heinous, Voice of America reports.
Šole reported that in the conversation with the President of Serbia, he pointed out the importance of calming the tension.
"I emphasized the importance of urgent de-escalation in the north of Kosovo and refraining from moves that could inflame tensions. The loss of human lives highlights the need for urgent peace and a return to the dialogue mediated by the European Union", announced Šole.
Prime Minister of Kosovo Aljbin Kurti published today on social network X, formerly Twitter, photos of members of the Kosovo police handing out food packages to Serbs in Banjska near Zvečani, stating that the police are "at the service" of the citizens of Kosovo.
In the announcement, Kurti expressed his gratitude to the residents of Banjska "for their calmness and trust".
"In addition to conducting anti-terrorist operations, the Kosovo Police distributed more than 100 food packages to the majority Serb residents of Banjska, while also addressing other basic needs. I thank our citizens for their calmness, vigilance and trust. The police are here to help you," Kurti wrote.
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The Youth Initiative for Human Rights assessed today that the attitude of institutions and the highest representatives of Serbia towards the event in Banjska is deeply wrong and harmful.
In a statement, the organization expressed its concern over the public state support for violent paramilitary activity.
"Although it is not the first time that representatives of the Serbian authorities celebrate people for their criminal activities, who are later wrapped in a cloak of patriotism, the murder of a Kosovo police officer and the exchange of fire for several hours in Banjska threaten to become a trigger for deepening the conflict and continuing tensions between Serbia and Kosovo," they wrote. are in a statement from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights.
They added that the deliberate failure to point out the responsibility of the persons who initiated the armed conflict represents the normalization of paramilitary association and violent problem solving, and not the normalization of relations with Kosovo.
"By declaring a day of mourning without clearly condemning the actions of a violent group in whose possession a huge amount of illegal weapons was found, it misleads the public, causing long-term damage to the negotiation process and the people living in Kosovo. The choice to heroize and justify the actions of persons suspected of a series of serious of criminal acts, and who were killed in the action of the Kosovo police, contributes to the collective stigmatization of members of the Serbian nationality as criminals. In this way, the fear of a war conflict is spreading, especially in the north of Kosovo," the organization pointed out.
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The Kosovo police confirmed that the two arrested on September 25 in the Banjska hotel for possessing weapons are connected to the attack on the Kosovo police in which police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed and several others were injured, reports Radio Free Europe.
Thus, the number of those arrested, who are connected to the attack on September 24 in Zvečan in the north of Kosovo, increased to eight.
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On September 24, the Kosovo Police was attacked by a group of masked and armed persons, after they tried to remove a barricade of two trucks placed in the direction of the village of Banjska, municipality of Zvečan in the north of Kosovo.
In the exchange of fire, the police killed three attackers of Serbian nationality, while six of them were arrested. A day later, on September 25, two more were arrested in Banjska.
As stated in the police announcement, during the arrest of two persons in the Banjska hotel, an armored car and weapons of various calibers were confiscated.
Several hundred citizens gathered today in the center of Zvečani, where they lit candles in front of the monument to King Milutin, with photos of three Serbs from the north of Kosovo who, according to still unofficial information, died in a conflict with the Kosovo police in the area of the village of Banjska.
Referring to unofficial information, the Kossev portal reported that NS from Zvečan and BM and IM from Leposavic were partially covered with black flora in the photos.
It is also stated that among the citizens who pay their respects are family members of one of the murdered, as well as officials of the Serbian List, Ivan Todosijević and Miljana Nikolić.
The portal also reported that there are no members of the Kosovo Police or the KFOR and Eulex missions in the center of Zvečani.
It was announced that from 18:XNUMX the mail to the murdered Serbs will be delivered both in Kosovska Mitrovica and in Leposavic.
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The President of the Democratic Party (DS), Zoran Lutovac, said today that the Serbian Parliament should urgently discuss the circumstances that led to the conflict in the town of Banjska in Kosovo, and that he would have no problem supporting the request for such a session even if they were the first to submit it. Dveri or the People's Party.
"Perhaps we will also ask for that session, it is necessary to discuss this topic in the parliament, but that is not enough. I previously launched an initiative after the session to establish the responsibility of Aleksandar Vučić for all violations of the Constitution and for everything he has done in recent years "said Lutovac in the Pravi uago show on RTV.
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The American news agency Associated Press (AP) writes that it is "unlikely" that KFOR will fulfill today's request of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, to take over the security of the north of Kosovo from the "police of Aljbin Kurti", which Vučić requested this morning in a conversation with representatives of Quinta in to Belgrade.
However, AP writes further, "there was no immediate reaction from NATO to Vučić's request, but it is unlikely that it will be approved because the primary role of those troops (4.500 KFOR soldiers) is peacekeeping, not police".
AP writes that until now "Vučić, a pro-Russian politician, has often spoken against NATO and its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, blaming it for allegedly not protecting minority Serbs from harassment by Kosovo Albanians."
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Another armored vehicle, two cars and heavy machinery (excavator) - all full of a large amount of weapons, is a new seizure by the Kosovo Police from the village of Banjska, reports N1. The police confirmed that part of the weapon was found in the monastery in Banjska, as well as one bulletproof vest, taken from the place where the policeman was killed.
The head of the Kosovo MUP, reports KoSSev, said that the value of the confiscated weapons is estimated at five million euros.
EU ambassadors are discussing in Brussels "further worsening of the crisis in Kosovo" after the conflict between the Kosovo police and an armed group of Serbs in the village of Banjska, in the north of Kosovo, in which a Kosovo policeman and four attackers were killed, EU officials confirmed to journalists.
European Commission spokesman Peter Stano previously announced that it was part of political-diplomatic procedures and contacts "with the aim of establishing what exactly happened and what actions the EU countries will take in this regard."
Stano stated that until the official investigation is completed and all the facts are collected, the EU does not want to make a statement, make assessments and condemn possible organizers and perpetrators of violence.
He said that the investigation by the Kosovo police, which Eulex and Kfor are providing assistance at its request, is still ongoing.
"It is necessary to establish who organized and who carried out this terrorist attack, and those responsible should then be brought to justice," said Stano.
The spokesperson of the EU High Representative, Josep Borelj, said that "EULEX, in accordance with its mandate, is doing everything it can to provide support to the Kosovo police if it requests it".
According to Stano, the head of the EULEX mission in Kosovo, Major General of the Italian Carabinieri Giovanni Pietro Barbano is in constant contact with Borella and informs him of all information.
Stano added that the EU is in constant contact with the participants of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and emphasized once again that "when it comes to terrorist attacks, the most important thing is to carry out a full investigation and establish who is responsible".
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The Minister of Trade of Serbia, Tomislav Momirović, assessed today that the tragic events on Sunday in the village of Banjska in Kosovo show "what kind of future awaits the region if mechanisms are not built so that all ethnic communities can participate in public and economic life", and if contracted self-government is not introduced The Brussels agreement for municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.
"It is of the utmost importance to understand that the long period of unilateral and autistic approach, as well as the violation of basic human and political rights has its consequences - the loss of human lives," Momirović said in Tirana at the Berlin Process Economic Ministers' Forum and the Business Forum.
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The president of PUPS - the Party of United Pensioners, Farmers and Proletarians of Serbia, Milan Krakobabić, said today that there must be no new divisions or new migrations of Serbs.
"Tension, conflicts and escalation - all this means only one thing for our people in Kosovo and Metohija: that their nails have been burnt, said Krakobabić at the PUPS meeting in Kragujevac.
He added that the continuation of negotiations is imperative, first of all, with the Quinte countries, led by the United States of America.
"They must be a reliable guarantor of the security of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. And as far as we from PUPS are concerned, there must be no new divisions or new migrations of Serbs," Krkobabic said.
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The president of the New Democratic Party of Serbia (New DSS), Miloš Jovanović, assessed today that the latest event in Kosovo, where four Serbs were killed, shows that the government of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) must be changed and its "disastrous policy regarding Kosovo and Kosovo" must be rejected.
In a statement, Jovanović assessed that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija has led to "the jubilation of secessionist forces and secessionist police".
"This is the end and this tragic situation has shown that we have to shake things up and fundamentally change things in Serbia. This government must change, because 12 years of theirs and four years of politics since 2008 have led to this. They behave unworthy in this situation, they have to leave," said Jovanović.
According to him, it is necessary to change the people in Serbia and the attitude towards history, to restore self-confidence to the people and to understand that "without a fight, which is not necessarily a war, there is no defense of Serbia".
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Analyst Dragomir Anđelković believes that the request of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, for KFOR to take over security in the north of Kosovo, is achievable, but that this would not solve the problem permanently, but would only postpone it.
He told Beta today that in that case all disputed issues, which are why the situation in Kosovo is the way it is, would still remain open, which means that the conflict and security challenges would only be postponed, and the problems would not be solved.
"Kfor is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Even during the latest incident in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, they had a certain role and were involved in the events in Banjska because, it is now obvious, they provided logistics to the Albanians," Anđelković says.
He adds that Serbia must request an urgent session of the UN Security Council on the situation in Kosovo and on the implementation of Resolution 1244 from 1999, which Serbia has never requested so far.
"At that session, it should be pointed out, especially now after the insistence of the world powers on respecting the principle of preserving sovereignty and territorial integrity, that the West and the Albanians are violating Resolution 1244 according to which Kosovo and Metohija are an integral part of Serbia. At the same time, Serbia should insist that the article of the Resolution is respected, which talks about the return of up to 1.000 soldiers who would take care of security issues in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, i.e. in four municipalities with a majority Serb population," Anđelković said.
He explains that this is the right moment for that, because in the UN Security Council, Serbia would have the support of Russia and China, and "the Western countries would certainly not oppose it to the extent that they have done it so far," Anđelković believes.
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The president of the Serbia Center (SRCE) party, Zdravko Ponoš, today assessed that the events in the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo are a "demonstration of the impotence" of the authorities in Belgrade, which, in his words, are now trying to "remove responsibility from themselves".
Ponoš told Television N1 that the armed conflict between members of the Kosovo police and Serbs from the north of Kosovo, in which at least five people died on Sunday, looks like a "prepared operation to destroy a group of armed Serbs".
"This can be seen from the logistical and media preparation and filming 'in the style of CNN television' from drones, which shows the absolute dominance of one side," said Ponoš, the SRCE party reported.
He assessed that "it is not excluded that the goal of everything was to speed up the process and close the 'Kosovo book' within the stipulated period".
"Nothing can absolve this government and release it from responsibility, because since 2012 we have been 'pushing Kosovo away from Serbia' through handing over institutions and conducting bad politics. Unfortunately, Kurti outplayed Vučić, who is now additionally blackmailed - in addition to Jovanjica and the head of the BIA, who under sanctions, now there is also the organization of an armed rebellion," Ponoš added.
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The President of the National Movement of Serbia (NPS), MP Miroslav Aleksić, said today that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Vice-President of the Serbian List, Milan Radoičić, are the most responsible for the bloodshed in Banjska.
Commenting on the video released by the Kosovo Police Minister Dželjalj Svećlja, which shows Radoičić in the Banjska monastery in full military gear, Aleksić told the Beta agency that the policy of the Serbian List, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Aleksandar Vučić towards Kosovo has experienced a debacle.
He emphasized that because of the lost lives in the north of Kosovo, Vučić must bear responsibility.
"After the armed conflict in Banjska, in which at least four people died, Aleksandar Vučić would have had to resign. Milan Radoičić could not have armed several dozen Serbs in the north without the knowledge and approval of Vučić and the Serbian security services. The two are most responsible for blood spilled in Banjska," Aleksic said.
He stated that Serbia is paying the "expensive price of the disastrous policy of the regime" of Aleksandar Vučić.
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The European Union (EU) insists on the necessity to clarify all the circumstances of the attack in the north of Kosovo that happened on September 24, and to bring those responsible for this attack to justice.
"Now it is very important for us to establish all the facts, to fully clarify and investigate what happened and how, who participated and organized it, and that all those responsible for this heinous terrorist attack be brought to justice. It is undoubtedly very strong and a clear position of the European Union," said EU spokesman Peter Stano.
He confirmed that the high representative of the European Union for common foreign policy and security, Josep Borelj, is in constant contact with actors within the EU and in the region.
According to him, the EU member states are analyzing the situation and the next steps will be discussed at upcoming meetings regarding this issue.
US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said today in Belgrade that the escalation of violence in Banjska in Kosovo is a "tragic event" and that further steps are being considered.
This morning, Hill was at the meeting of "Quinta" with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, but he did not answer the question of the journalist about what they discussed.
"We must all condemn the murder of a member of the Kosovo police and always mourn the loss of life, but we must continue with the political process. Processes are underway to encourage dialogue," said Hill in the public debate "Changed geopolitical environment and challenges to the international legal order." .
Hill said that the diplomatic process must be "strengthened" in the coming days and Sunday.
"This situation is being treated very seriously and there are many discussions about what steps to take," he said.
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