Albanian Language Media:

• State Department hasn’t verified reports about withdrawal of Serbian troops (media)

• Special unit in Banjska replaced with Fast Intervention Unit (Klan Kosova)

• Bislimi: Attack in the north was orchestrated and organized by Serbia (media)

• Baerbock: Serbia must reduce troops near Kosovo border, no more tensions (media)

• McClain: The United States must stand by Kosovo (media)

• Rama, Plenkovic call for measures against Serbia because of violence in Kosovo (media)

• Kosovo government condemns acts of vandalism in Medvedja (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic tells CNN Serbia is last country that needs incident, it wants stronger presence of KFOR in northern Kosovo (RTS, CNN)
• Djuric: Of the two military buildups in Kosovo neither is Serbian (N1)

• US Welcomes Serbian troop withdrawal (N1, AFP, The Pavlovic Today)

• UN SC session at which UNMIK report on Kosovo will be presented to be held on October 18 (Tanjug)

• Orlic: Admission of Kosovo to CoE would be absurd (Tanjug)

• Grenell: Transparent investigation needed, US to send envoy (Kosovo Online, social media)

• Kosovo special forces withdraw from Banjska, members of police intervention units remain (KoSSev, media)

International Media: 

• After Monastery Shootout, Residents Say Kosovo Villages Feel Like a ‘Jungle’ (The New York Times)

 

Albanian Language Media

 

State Department hasn’t verified reports about withdrawal of Serbian troops (media)

The U.S. State Department said on Monday that it has not verified reports that Serbia has withdrawn the troops close to the border with Kosovo. 

In an interview with CNN, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia has reduced the number of troops close to the border with Kosovo to 4.400 from 14.000 as they were last year.

A spokesperson for the State Department Mathew Miller, however, said that they have not verified the reports. “We have seen a military buildup at the border. We have seen reports that Serbia has withdrawn troops as of Friday, but we have not verified them independently,” Miller told a press conference.

Special unit in Banjska replaced with Fast Intervention Unit (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo Police deputy director for the north, Veton Elshani, told Klan Kosova on Monday that the presence of the police special unit in Banjska near Zvecan was reduced and that they were replaced by the Fast Intervention Unit. “This was done after the level of threat is now lower. Also the whole area has been controlled to make sure there is no threat from explosive devices,” he said.

Elshani said that life in that area was going back to normal. “Today for the first time we have called the firefighters to clean the roads and the area and life is slowing returning to normal,” he added.

Bislimi: Attack in the north was orchestrated and organized by Serbia (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, said in a meeting with Finnish Ambassador to Pristina, Matti Nissinen, that Kosovo authorities have sufficient evidence that prove the direct involvement of Serbia in the 24 September attack in Banjska near Zvecan.

A press release issued by the Public Communications Office after the meeting notes that footage showed by the Kosovo Police and the weapons confiscated in the last couple of days prove that “there was a scenario prepared by Serbia aimed at destabilizing Kosovo”. “From Milan Radoicic’s presence and organization of the terrorist attack, the presence of the bodyguard of the Serbian Intelligence Agency Aleksandar Vulin, and the vehicle that was confiscated and which was in the ownership of the Serbian Ministry of Interior Affairs, the verification issued by the Serbian Army for heavy weaponry, the sheltering of the terrorists in Serbia and their glorification,” the press release notes.

Baerbock: Serbia must reduce troops near Kosovo border, no more tensions (media)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock repeated the call to Serbia to reduce the number of military troops at the border with Kosovo. Before the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kiev, she said there should be no more tensions. “There should be no further tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. Together with the United States, we urgently call on Serbia to reduce the number of troops at the border with Kosovo,” Baerbock said.

McClain: The United States must stand by Kosovo (media)

U.S. congresswoman Lisa McClain said on Monday that “Kosovo has long been a strong ally of the United States and NATO, and the free world is committed to their sovereignty”. “Any aggression against Kosovo by Russian-backed states is unacceptable and a threat to global security.  The United States must stand by Kosovo,” she wrote in a post on X.

Rama, Plenkovic call for measures against Serbia because of violence in Kosovo (media)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic called on the European Union and western countries on Monday to take measures against Serbia after a Serb armed group attacked the Kosovo Police in the north of Kosovo on September 24.

During a visit to Zagreb, Rama said that “the aggression of paramilitary forces is as concerning as the reaction from Belgrade”. “There was a crime, the killing of a police officer, and then there was the glorification of those that committed the crime,” Rama said, adding that this should not be acceptable in Europe.

Plenkovic said that Serbia in a way acknowledged its involvement in the attack by declaring a day of mourning for the killed attackers. “We believe that declaring a day of mourning for the three de facto terrorists that killed the Kosovo police was an unacceptable act and we are not pleased that this political move was made at this time, because in a way it almost implies identifying with what they have done. I am certain that in the coming days, after a thorough analysis, we will be fully informed about what happened, and proposals will be made,” he said.

Plenkovic also said that the attack on September 24 was not accidental and that it shows that there are forces that want to destabilize Kosovo and the situation in all of South-East Europe. He added that the EU and NATO must clearly react to the attack in the north of Kosovo and express support for Kosovo’s institutions.

Kosovo government condemns acts of vandalism in Medvedja (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi said on Monday that the Kosovo government has condemned an attack against the family of Ruhan Muharremi in Medvedja, Serbia. “The government strongly condemns the acts of vandalism & intimidation against the Muharremi family in Medvegja. It is concerning & unacceptable. Apparently for Vucic any day w/o an incident is a wasted day. Serbia should refrain from acts of violence against Albanians in Presheva Valley. he only Albanian MP in Serbia Shaip Kamberi also asked for order, peace & to ensure that Albanian citizens in Medvegja are not exposed to such acts & for the int'l community to follow the events & monitor the security situation carefully, especially in Presheva Valley,” Bislimi wrote in a post on X.

 

 Serbian Language Media

 

Vucic tells CNN Serbia is last country that needs incident, it wants stronger presence of KFOR in northern Kosovo (RTS, CNN)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in an interview with Christiane Amanpour at CNN last evening said Serbia is the last country that needed incidents in Kosovo. We want to see a stronger presence of KFOR in the north, as one of the ways to ensure greater safety to the Serbs living there, Vucic said.

Speaking about the presence of the Serbian Army around the administrative line with Kosovo, Vucic said he respects the reports coming from US and its intelligence services, but that those reports, as he said, are not fully accurate.

He pointed out the presence of the Serbian Army members is much smaller than before, around 4.400, which is a regular number, adding there is no reason for concern. Asked if troops were moved towards Kosovo to divert attention from the case of Milan Radoicic and his involvement in the Banjska incident, Vucic said that was not the case, explaining that the army monitors the situation on the ground and moves in a way they believe was the most useful. He also said there was no raised combat readiness of the army.

“Serbia last country that needed incidents”

“Serbia is the last country that needed those incidents in Kosovo, because of the dynamics of the negotiations”, Vucic said.

He noted that Serbia was a constructive party, while Pristina did nothing. He also accused Pristina of carrying out ethnic cleansing and that number of Serbs for the last two years in the north decreased by 10 percent.

Speaking about Milan Radoicic, Vucic said prosecutors will do their job and that he is available to the state bodies.

He, however, wanted to emphasize the roots of the problem, and that was that the Serbs in Kosovo wanted to protect themselves, but that he condemned the murder of a Kosovo Albanian police officer.

He recalled that Serbs in Kosovo are arbitrarily arrested, without indictments, many other incidents targeting them and their rights, that the Community of Serb Municipalities had not been formed yet, although the agreement on it was signed in 2013.  

He underlined that Serbia was fully constructive in negotiations, that it accepted all, and recalled that EU High Representative Josep Borell confirmed that during the last failed round of negotiations.

EU officials, all stakeholders in the negotiations, said it is Pristina obstructing negotiations, Vucic added.

Watch full Vucic’s interview to CNN at: https://tinyurl.com/yc49c9c7

Djuric: Of the two military buildups in Kosovo neither is Serbian (N1)

Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric said there are only two “serious military buildups" in Kosovo, and that neither of them is a new military buildup of Serbian troops, N1 reports.

The first new buildup is the buildup of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin “Kurti’s special highly militarized and monoethnic forces”. while the second is “the buildup of lies, bias, and prejudice against Kosovo Serbs and Serbia, orchestrated by (Albin) Kurti”.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Djuric said that eight new bases have been built (in the north) on land that has been illegally requisitioned by Kurti’s government for these militarized and monoethnic forces.

As for the alleged Serbian buildup, Djuric said “the only thing that exists is a drawdown of forces that have been there for years – from 7500 to a historic minimum of 4000”, adding that “we are the responsible side, one that wants peace and is trying to avoid further bloodshed”.

“Perpetrators of the tragedy in Banjska on the Serb side are already being held to account”, said Djuric and asked: “Who is going to be held accountable for the continuous terror by Kurti’s regime?”

US Welcomes Serbian troop withdrawal (N1, AFP, The Pavlovic Today)

The US welcomed Serbia's announced withdrawal of troops from the zone around Kosovo following warnings from Washington, N1 reports citing the AFP.

“We will be looking for further confirmation. But if true, that would be a welcome step“, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“We continue to be concerned about the cycle of rising tensions and sporadic violence in northern Kosovo and encourage both parties to return to the EU-facilitated dialogue“, he said.

Some Serbian media also reported that during the briefing, Miller exchanged arguments with The Pavlovic Today correspondent from White House as to the number of Serbian Army members deployed in the zone around Kosovo, rebuttal of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that number of army members increased, claiming contrary and the calls of Washington to reduce presence.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/bdhpaxkh

UN SC session at which UNMIK report on Kosovo will be presented to be held on October 18 (Tanjug)

The session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at which the new six-month report of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) will be discussed should be held on October 18, according to the monthly work plan of the UNSC published on the site.

The session will be held in the morning hours in local time, or in the afternoon in Central European time.

The previous session was held on April 27, and in the meantime there was an increase in tensions in Kosovo. 

Orlic: Admission of Kosovo to CoE would be absurd (Tanjug)

Serbian Parliament Speaker Vladimir Orlic met with the rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Axel Schafer on Monday and expressed commitment to further cooperation, Tanjug news agency reports.

Speaking about the situation in Kosovo, Orlic said it was extremely difficult - exclusively through the fault of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the Serbian Parliament said in a statement.

"Rewarding the so-called 'Kosovo' with Council of Europe membership would be absurd after all it has been doing. Not only Serbia is saying that - so are many others in Europe", Orlic said, noting that Serbia's position was clear and that, as President Aleksandar Vucic had reiterated many times, dialogue was the only right way to reach any sustainable solution, and that as he said, unlike Kurti, Serbia wanted peace.

Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Orlic informed Schafer of the daily terror, violence and threats to the security of Serbs in Kosovo, of Pristina's unacceptable attitude to previously signed agreements, flagrant attempts to cause an escalation and destroy any dialogue, the statement added.

Grenell: Transparent investigation needed, US to send envoy (Kosovo Online, social media)

Former US presidential envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Richard Grenell called for a full investigation and autopsy to be carried out in relation to the Banjska incident on September 24, Kosovo Online portal reports.

In an interview with Siri TV Grenell called upon the White House to send a special envoy to monitor the situation between Kosovo and Serbia.

“I want to understand each detail and that is why a transparent investigation is necessary. The Serbian Government needs to be very transparent and say when they receive information about the attack. I am also concerned by individuals in Kosovo who work for the police and who were put there by Albin Kurti. We want to know what they knew, what they were told, and now that there have been deaths we must do an investigation. We have to have recordings and to look at all carefully. Not only small bits of the video recordings because it looks like parts of the situation”, Grenell is quoted as saying.

He also spoke about independent investigation.

“You know that there must be a third party to do those autopsies. We can’t have only one side offering the information and that everybody trusts that side. That is the role of the US and EU, but some of them must intervene immediately and start an investigation. I am concerned that Europeans talk a lot, but do not act in line with that. At this moment, the US needs to intervene, and when they do so, they undertake measures immediately”, he added.

Watch the full Grenell’s interview at: https://tinyurl.com/4p7v7tp8

Kosovo special forces withdraw from Banjska, members of police intervention units remain (KoSSev, media)

Members of Kosovo police special units have withdrawn from the village of Banjska and will be replaced by members of the intervention unit, the deputy commander of the Kosovo police for the region north, Veton Elshani, told KoSSev. 

“They have been replaced by another unit – the intervention unit, and now we will see to it that there are fewer policemen“, Elshani said.

He also added that the fire brigade will be present every day. “The streets are being cleaned and we hope that life will slowly return to normal“, he said.

 

 International Media

 

After Monastery Shootout, Residents Say Kosovo Villages Feel Like a ‘Jungle’ (The New York Times)

A deadly gunfight in a Kosovar village raised worries that the troubled Balkan region would be plunged into another conflict, with confusion and fear running high among residents. “I’d like to know who runs this place,” a mechanic said.

After ethnic Serbian gunmen stormed the small village of Banjska in Kosovo last week and fought a deadly battle with Kosovar forces, Serbia deployed thousands of military forces along Kosovo’s border, and the White House denounced the move as “destabilizing.” The violence raised fears that this troubled Balkan region could be plunged into a wider conflagration.

Sinisa Jancovic, a lumberjack from Banjska, which is nestled in the green valleys of northern Kosovo, said he had heard heavy gunfire in the dead of night as the battle raged. But with the village sealed off for days by special Kosovar police forces, he was now more worried about getting enough to eat. He said food was being smuggled in through a nearby forest connecting to Serbia.

“I’m very tired of all this,” Mr. Jancovic said on Sunday, sipping a can of beer on a bar terrace — lining a street deserted except for balaclava-clad Kosovar police officers armed with assault rifles. “I don’t know if the Serbian Army will intervene,” he added. “I don’t know what the Kosovars will do. I don’t know if there’ll be bread on the table tomorrow.”

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2p9ksezn