Albanian Language Media:

• Body of another dead attacker found in Banjska (Koha)
• Blinken: Violent attacks on Kosovo Police near Banjska Monastery, unacceptable (media) 
• “Weapons seized at Banjska Monastery will be presented today” (TeVe1)
• Another vehicle with weapons found in the north (Koha)
• Crisis in Banjska – Police find new evidence, including drone (Kallxo)
• Kurti: Bunjaku was killed by a professionally trained group supported by Serbia (media)
• Osmani awards slain police officer with “Hero of Kosovo” order (media)
• Sarrazin condemns “criminal and terrorist” attack on Kosovo Police (Albanian Post)
• Lajcak to meet French, German, Italian representatives today, Escobar will attend (RFE)
• “Arms seized in the north; terror group tried to camouflage as KFOR” (Indeksonline)
• Rohde calls on Serbian List to react against killing of Kosovo police officer (media)
• Vela: Vucic resorted to unprecedented aggression; he will fail (media)
• Lajcak: Cowardly acts of violence, against principles of peace and cooperation (media)
• Bogdanovic, Biserko comment on yesterday’s developments in north (Nacionale)
• Kanin: Kosovo is victim of attacks in north; Association favours Serbia (media)
• Kupchan: The attack in Kosovo was not spontaneous (Radio Free Europe)
• Maliqi: “Serb terrorists” wanted to frame massacre and blame Albanians (Dukagjini)
• Taravari: Kosovo can’t be another Ukraine, because it would mean World War III (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Stano: A very dangerous situation happened in Kosovo, urgent de-escalation needed (Kosovo Online)
• Visoki Decani monastery warns against misinformation (KiM radio, N1)
• Vucic meets Bostan-Kharchenko, tells him ethnic cleansing is ongoing in Kosovo (Tanjug)
• Sarrazin: We must have a successful dialogue (KiM radio)
• Brussels: Lajcak and Escobar with diplomats from France, Germany, and Italy (KiM radio, Tanjug)
• Elshani: Police are looking for uniformed attackers (KiM radio)
• Jarinje and Brnjak still closed for entry in Kosovo (N1)
• Believers still in Banjska monastery, citizens of North Macedonia went home (Kim Radio, Beta, N1)
• BETA: Injured near Banjska transferred to hospital in Novi Pazar (N1, nova.rs, KiM Radio, NMagazin)
• Attacker from Banjska underwent surgery in Pristina (N1)
• Due to incompetence of Serbian regime, Kosovo Serbs at mercy of Kurti, Freedom and Justice Party said (Beta, N1, KiM radio)
• Dacic: Kurti wants war (FoNet, Danas)
• Serbian Minister says events in northern Kosovo planned, conflict suits Kurti only (Kosovo Online, TV Pink)
• Regional media: "The state of war", "terrorists" and "the spark that could ignite the region" (NMagazin, N1)
• Serbian citizen arrested in Montenegro suspected of war crimes in Kosovo (Kosovo Online, RTCG, N1)
• Post of Serbia: Post office in Banjska intruded, property damaged (RTS)

Opinion:

• Palokaj: “Terrorism cannot be a topic of the dialogue” (Koha)

International:

• Siege of Serb monastery in Kosovo ends after militants withdraw (Financial Times)
• Why Kosovo’s standoff with Serbs continues 15 years after statehood (Al Jazeera)
• Telekom Srbija wins Kosovo appeal (broadbendtvnews.com)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Body of another dead attacker found in Banjska (Koha)

The body of another dead attacker was found in Banjska today, after the attacks against Kosovo Police in the area on Sunday. The information was confirmed by a prosecutor working on the case. He said that another vehicle has been found and that it is being examined. 

Blinken: Violent attacks on Kosovo Police near Banjska Monastery, unacceptable (media) 

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said today that “the recent violent attacks on the Kosovo Police near the Banjska Monastery are unacceptable”. He also said “we call on the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to avoid actions which could further inflame tensions and to immediately return to the EU-facilitated Dialogue.”

Read the State Department full statement at: https://tinyurl.com/hsyfpe4d “Weapons seized at Banjska Monastery will be presented today” (TeVe1)

Kosovo Police deputy director for the north of Kosovo, Veton Elshani, told the TV station that the weapons seized at Banjska Monastery on Sunday will be presented today at 14:00 at the Enver Zymberi camp in Mitrovica South. “The weapons and everything else that was seized yesterday at the Banjska Monastery will be presented at 14:00,” he said.

Another vehicle with weapons found in the north (Koha)

A special prosecutor working on the case in the north, Naim Abazi, confirmed to the news website that police have found another vehicle full of weapons in Zvecan today. He also said that the police operation to locate houses and vehicles used by the attackers on Sunday is ongoing and that suspects are being identified.

Crisis in Banjska – Police find new evidence, including drone (Kallxo)

New evidence, equipment and materials were found and confiscated today in the area where there was armed fighting between a “terrorist group” and the Kosovo Police, the news website reports. It learns that a drone that belonged to the armed group has also been found.

Kurti: Bunjaku was killed by a professionally trained group supported by Serbia (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in today’s commemorative meeting in honour of the slain Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku in the north of Kosovo early Sunday morning, that he was killed “during an attack against Kosovo police officers and against our state, by a group of heavily armed and equipped, professionally trained and with a plan, with political support, financed and logistically supported by Serbia. The professional reaction of our Police resulted in the elimination of several terrorists and criminals, the arrest of several others and the neutralisation of their whole group, as well as the confiscation of many weapons and other support and logistical means”.

Kurti said that “from yesterday, nothing can be the same anymore, as the facts emerged in front of us, in front of our eyes and the eyes of the international community, and in the eyes of anyone that has the courage and willingness to see the truth of the region in which we live”.

Kurti said that “the professional and mature reaction of Kosovo’s institutions yesterday was in line with the very nature of our democratic and pro-Western state”.

“Today in front and beside the picture with the portrait of Afrim Bunjaku in the uniform of the police of our Republic and in front of his heroic act, we bow with honour and respect, and we pledge for justice and remembrance. We do what we want because we must. Lawfulness and constitutionality, peace and security, for all and everyone without distinction. Glory to Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku, a hero of the Republic of Kosovo!” Kurti said at the end of his address.

Osmani awards slain police officer with “Hero of Kosovo” order (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has awarded the order “Hero of Kosovo” to the slain Kosovo police officer, Afrim Bunjaku, who was killed early on Sunday morning during armed fighting with a group of armed persons in the north of Kosovo. Osmani said Bunjaku was killed while defending law, order, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo. “Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku and members of Police were challenged yesterday by terrorist gangs orchestrated by Belgrade, and did what needed to be done, the restored law, defence, territorial integrity and sovereignty and served the dignity of Kosovo,” Osmani said in today’s commemorative meeting.

Sarrazin condemns “criminal and terrorist” attack on Kosovo Police (Albanian Post)

German Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, after meeting Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina today, strongly condemned the “terrorist” attack in Banjska on Sunday when an armed group attacked Kosovo Police killing a police officer. “Yesterday we saw a horrible situation. I want to say very clearly that we strongly condemn this criminal and terrorist attack on Kosovo Police. We are here to express our solidarity and condolences to the family of the killed police officer and to all of Kosovo. We are with you in this situation,” he said.

Lajcak to meet French, German, Italian representatives today, Escobar will attend (RFE)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, will meet today with the diplomatic advisors to the leaders of France, Germany and Italy, the news website learns from unnamed sources in Brussels. The sources said that the U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, will also attend the meeting. The extraordinary meeting comes one day after the attack against Kosovo Police in the north of Kosovo, which resulted in the killing of a police officer.

“Arms seized in the north; terror group tried to camouflage as KFOR” (Indeksonline)

The news website reports that photos of seized weapons belonging to “the terrorist group” that attacked the police in the north of Kosovo and killed a police officer, have surfaced in social media. Photos show an arsenal of different weapons, “but what catches the eye is the logo of KFOR, and attackers tried to camouflage as KFOR soldiers to act with greater ease”.

Rohde calls on Serbian List to react against killing of Kosovo police officer (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said in a X post today that “As the whole world including the Serbian Orthodox Church is shocked and condemns yesterday’s events: I wonder whether also Srpska Lista will stop its silence and join us all in our clear stance against this murderous attack on Kosovo Police”.

Vela: Vucic resorted to unprecedented aggression; he will fail (media)

Chief of Staff to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Blerim Vela, wrote on X on Sunday that “Serbia’s ‘little green men’ with armored vehicles are 15 km inside Kosovo territory (Banjska), where a terror attack against Kosovo Police resulted in a Kosovo police officer being killed and another wounded. Vucic has resorted to an unprecedented aggression against Kosovo. He will fail!”

Lajcak: Cowardly acts of violence, against principles of peace and cooperation (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday that upon his return from New York, he was “met with the shocking news of an attack on Kosovo police officers in the north of Kosovo. Such cowardly acts of violence are deeply concerning and go against the very principles of peace and cooperation. My heart goes out to the victims, their families, friends and colleagues. This horrific attack further emphasises the necessity of preventive diplomacy and dialogue, underlined during this past week, when I participated in the High-Level week of the UN General Assembly in New York. On the margins of 🇺🇳 High-level week, I spoke with numerous leaders and colleagues from around the globe. In one way or another, we all stressed the importance of dialogue and cooperation.I also met the six Presidents from the Western Balkans and high-ranking UN officials, to discuss regional dynamics. HR/VP Borrell also hosted a traditional Western Balkan lunch to align our messaging for the week on the global scene. To find a way forward in the region and in particular the Dialogue, I held strategic discussions with our 🇺🇸 partners. This year, I particularly appreciated the dinner with former General Assembly Presidents and the current President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. It was great to be back at the UN, but after a week of “global speed dating” it was time to return to Brussels. In the upcoming days, I will fully focus on finding a way forward.”

Bogdanovic, Biserko comment on yesterday’s developments in north (Nacionale)

Serb politician Bogdan Bogdanovic, commenting on yesterday’s attack against Kosovo Police in the north of Kosovo that resulted in the killing of a police officer, claimed that “Serbian List deputy leader Milan Radoicic is 100% involved together with the head of the Serbian Intelligence Agency, Aleksandar Vulin”. Bogdanovic told the news website that there is no doubt that the two men “gave the go-ahead for the terrorist act”. He also said he had information prior to the murderous attack that Radoicic was pushing for such a scenario. “Radoicic is absolutely involved,” he said, adding that the members of the formation had all “the advanced weapons, equipment, and logistics” and that this “is all tied to Radoicic and Vulin”. He however said that he doesn’t have information that Radoicic’s partner, Zvonko Veselinovic, was involved. “He backed away … he didn’t want to be involved in this,” he said. “Aleksandar Vulin is also 100% involved. BIA [Serbian Intelligence Agency] is involved in this terrorist act. When I saw Kosovo media and heard the audio recording inside [the Banjska Monastery] they were speaking in Serbian and Russian. If you want to carry out this terrorist act, you certainly need to have the support of Russian intelligence services. For me it is quite clear.”

Bogdanovic also said: “perhaps some of the terrorists could have been from the north of Kosovo. But around 20 or 25 come from Serbia, Russia or terrorist centres in Europe. I think they come from Russian military camps with the support of BIA and Radoicic; he gave the go-ahead for the terrorist act yesterday. This is my opinion. It is not true that they [the armed persons] are only from the north of Kosovo. But Vucic needs to protect Radoicic and Vulin”.

Sonja Biserko, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Belgrade, said “the involvement of Vulin and Radoicic in the terrorist act” is not far-fetched. “It is very likely,” she said. “His [Radoicic] involvement is clear because this group of 30 armed persons and so well-organised and trained, had to be linked to the centre. Radoicic is also sanctioned by the U.S. and he takes part in the sessions of the Serbian Government and remains the pillar of Serbia’s policy in the north of Kosovo,” Biserko said in an interview with the news website. “I cannot conclude for sure that the Serbian state was involved. But knowing the events of the last decades, I can say that Serbia wants the division of Kosovo. Vulin is the top Russian agent in Serbia. He is openly and clearly a supporter of Putin’s politics and he does not even hide this. He is also sanctioned by the U.S. And I don’t know if Vucic will be able to remove him from that position. It is known that he cooperates with Russia.”

Kanin: Kosovo is victim of attacks in north; Association favours Serbia (media)

David Kanin, former senior CIA analyst and currently professor at John Hopkins University, condemned the armed attack against Kosovo Police in the north of Kosovo on Sunday morning where a police officer was killed, and two others were wounded. He said in an interview with the Voice of America that the case should be treated as “an unacceptable act of violence”, during which at least 30 armed Serb assailants not only killed a Kosovo police officer but also attacked a Serbian monastery. According to Kanin, “Kosovo is the victim” because “they came under attack” and that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was right to blame Serbia for “the organised attack” around the Banjska Monastery, while Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied any links with “the terrorist group” and said they were Serbs from Kosovo. “He referred to the attackers as rebelled Serbs, by giving them some sort of context and justification. But it is clear that he is not pleased,” he said.

Kanin further argued that the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities would be more in Serbia’s favour and that “what would disappear is another level of Kosovo’s sovereignty in the north”. “If the Association of Serb-majority municipalities is formed, Kosovo will find it even more difficult to respond to such incidents,” he said, adding that the horrible event in the north strengthens Kosovo’s position to reject this mechanism for Kosovo Serbs.

Kupchan: The attack in Kosovo was not spontaneous (Radio Free Europe)

Charles Kupchan, professor at Georgetown University and former director for European affairs at the U.S. National Security Council during the Clinton and Obama administrations, said in an interview with the news agency that it is clear that the armed attack in the north of Kosovo was not spontaneous. “It seems it was a well-organised attack, therefore even more dangerous, because it suggests that there are groups on the ground that are interested in causing violence and are ready to mobilise and find weapons that enable them to carry out their objectives,” he said.

Kupchan said he doesn’t want to speculate who stands behind the attackers. “It could be a local group with support from abroad, but not necessarily from the government. Their objective? To cause trouble and greater violence in order to increase tensions and render impossible the cooperation between the involved parties to reach sustainable peace,” he argued.

Maliqi: “Serb terrorists” wanted to frame massacre and blame Albanians (Dukagjini)

Political commentator Shkelzen Maliqi, in his analysis of Sunday’s attack against the Kosovo Police, raised doubts over “the interference of Serbian and Russian secret services to frame a massacre at the Banjska Monastery” and then blame Kosovo and justify a military intervention by Serbia in the north of Kosovo. “Terrorists from Serbian and Russian secret services seem to have planned to frame a massacre … where the victims would include pilgrims from Vojvodina and the Serb monks, and then blame the Kosovo Police for being terrorists, and thus cause a rebellion by Serbs in the north and justify a military intervention to take away the north of Kosovo,” he argued.

Maliqi said that such scenarios are known from the past. “In the same way, the massacre at the Paraqin military barracks was organized, where five soldiers of the Yugoslav Army were killed in their sleep and then an Albanian, Aziz Kelmendi, was accused of the murders, and he was later found dead in a forest near the barracks, and they said it was a suicide. After the Paraqin case, Slobodan Milosevic took over full power in Serbia and started the project of destroying Yugoslavia and creating a Greater Serbia,” he said. “Another similar case was the killing of five Serb youths at the Panda coffee bar in Peja, for which [Serbian] President Vucic himself publicly accepted that it was organised by Serbian secret services to present it as a crime committed by the KLA and to declare it a terrorist organisation. The parents of the victims in the Panda case for a long time now call on Vucic to tell the prosecution who are the real killers of the Serb youths, but he is avoiding the promise that he will do that, probably regretting that he said it in the first place”.

According to Maliqi, the case at Banjska Monastery can serve to shed light on other setups by Serbia. “Banjska could serve to shed light on the strategy of setting up heinous crimes … not only those in Paraqin and in Peja, but also similar cases during the war in Bosnia, such as the killing of the Serbian couple in Sarajevo by sniper, after which war and the four-year siege of Sarajevo began,” he added. “If investigations confirm this, and information and traces lead to that direction, Kosovo police and intelligence, likely in cooperation with western intelligence, will score a major victory in unmasking this macabre evil that threatens peace and security in the region and beyond”.

Taravari: Kosovo can’t be another Ukraine, because it would mean World War III (media)

Leader of the Alliance for Albanians, Arben Taravari, said in a Facebook post today that “Serbia is continuing its efforts to incite a war in Kosovo and beyond. Diplomatic Europe keeps reducing these military attacks in ‘gangs’ and isolated cases. Kosovo cannot be another Ukraine, because another Ukraine would mean World War III”. He also said that “for this not to happen, Serbia must be urgently stopped in its invasive and criminal strategy! Enough with diplomatic meetings that are fueling the fire. The time has come to replace the negotiators and to hold a fair stance towards both parties! A fair stance means condemning, stopping and punishing the Serbian government for all its criminal actions so far! Any delay could cost the world much more!”

     

Serbian Language Media

  Stano: A very dangerous situation happened in Kosovo, urgent de-escalation needed (Kosovo Online)

EU Spokesperson Peter Stano said today the EU condemns the incident that took place in Banjska and said de-escalation of the situation must happen and the exit from constant crisis found through the dialogue, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Addressing the press conference in Brussels, Stano also said that a very serious situation occurred in Kosovo and appealed to both parties in order to urgently reach de-escalation.

He recalled that all EU stances on the situation in Kosovo are contained in last week's statement of all 27 member states in which it was said clearly what the EU expects from both sides. 

Visoki Decani monastery warns against misinformation (KiM radio, N1)

The Visoki Decani monastery drew attention on the social network X (formerly Twitter) to the large amount of disinformation and fake news that is spreading after the attack in the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo.

Decani Monastery pointed out that the international representatives confirmed that during the search of the Banjska Monastery, the Kosovo Police found weapons only in the vehicles with which the armed group broke through the locked gate and entered the port of the monastery.

"Weapons were not found in the monastery itself and its premises. The church has nothing to do with this tragic event, and the monks and believers were caught in the crossfire," the statement reads. 

The Monastery Decani post on social network X (formerly Twitter): 

''There is a surge of misinformation and fake news spreading about the tragic events in Kosovo yesterday. International representatives confirmed that the Kosovo Police after a search yesterday afternoon only discovered weapons inside the abandoned vehicles of the armed attackers near the monastery. As said in yesterday's Church Statement, armed individuals with masks had breached the locked gates of the monastery and exchanged fire with the police.

NO WEAPONS according to international sources in Kosovo were found in the search within the Monastery and its premises. The Church had absolutely nothing to do with these tragic events and the monks and pilgrims were merely caught in the crossfire. Thank God no one in the Monastery was hurt. The pilgrims are expected to leave home today.

Malicious attacks and the spread of false information on some social media platforms in Kosovo, targeting our Church, our monks, and the pilgrims at the Banjska monastery—who endured significant stress and experienced a harrowing ordeal—do not foster peace but only escalate interethnic tensions in Kosovo.

The Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo was among the first to strongly denounce the violence in northern Kosovo yesterday, appeal for calm and express condolences for all who lost their lives. Our monks and pilgrims at the Banjska monastery, where the armed group entered forcefully escaping from the police and put up resistance, faced direct threats to their safety and deserve solidarity and respect.

Fr. Danilo, the Abbot of the Monastery, our monks in Banjska, and the pilgrims who continued their prayers in the church amid the ongoing gunfire were true heroes. They do not deserve the spiteful remarks from trolls and haters on some social media platforms.

Another media misrepresentation occurred today when three SOC monks were photographed outside the police station in Pristina this morning. They were there not in connection with the events in North Kosovo, but to handle their documentation with the assistance of the OSCE. https://indeksonline.net/kleriket-fetar-serbe-shihen-ne-prishtine-tek-stacioni-i-policise-1/

Our Bishop Teodosije has consistently called for a de-escalation of tensions and for the restoration of peace, continuously liaising with KFOR, EULEX, and the Quint Embassies. Our Church remains steadfastly committed to addressing all issues in Kosovo through peaceful means and dialogue.''

Vucic meets Bostan-Kharchenko, tells him ethnic cleansing is ongoing Kosovo (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today with the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and informed him, as the statement said, of brutal ethnic cleansing that is being carried out in Kosovo, organised by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurit with support from the part of international community, Tanjug news agency reports.

“An important conversation with Russian Federation Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko. Grateful that he listened to Serbian side pleas and requests. I informed Botsan-Kharchenko of the fact that a brutal ethnic cleansing is being carried out in Kosovo and Metohija, organised by Albin Kurti, with the support from part of the international community”, Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account. 

Sarrazin: We must have a successful dialogue (KiM radio)

The dialogue can, of course, be continued and it is important to stick to the previous one in trying to find a way to implement what was agreed in Ohrid, German envoy for the Western Balkans Manuel Sarrazin said in Pristina. He condemned the "criminal and terrorist" attack on the Kosovo Police and expressed his condolences to the family of the murdered police officer, reported KiM radio. 

"It is very important that I am in Pristina, Kosovo today. Yesterday we saw a terrible, terrible situation. I want to say very clearly that we strongly condemn that criminal and terrorist attack on the Kosovo Police. We are here to express our solidarity and condolences to the family of the murdered Kosovo police officer, as well as the entire state of Kosovo. We are here as a sign of solidarity and we stand by your side in this situation," he said in an address to journalists in front of the Government of Kosovo.

Sarrazin added that security is important, but that dialogue is crucial for a long-term solution to this issue.

"It is very clear that in this situation security is important. The reaction must be clear and firm in this regard, but it is also clear that if you want to solve the security issue in the long term - we must have a successful dialogue. Engagement in dialogue and the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia can be one of the cornerstones of future events and the development of the situation. We must not stop now, we must continue and invest our efforts in trying to find a solution, implement Ohrid and make the dialogue successful," he said.

The German envoy emphasised the Ohrid agreement. 

"It is important to stick to what was previously agreed upon in trying to find a way to implement what was agreed in Ohrid. What I heard in Belgrade and Pristina, the Ohrid Agreement is a cornerstone and can lead relations in a very positive direction. But, of course, at this moment it was not successfully implemented, and I think that this is not the moment to stop trying to successfully implement the Ohrid Agreement, on the contrary," he said.

When asked by a Kim radio journalist to say what he personally and the Government of Germany can do so that the officials of Pristina and Belgrade finally stop the campaigns in which gruesome nationalist narratives and rhetoric are used, Sarazzin replied:

"We are trying to do our best and show that, in the end, we are friends of the Western Balkans and that we want all six countries in the European Union. That is the way that leads through dialogue and fulfilling what was agreed. My chancellor was clear about that when he visited Pristina a year and three months ago and I think that is clear. Of course, political culture and political decisions cannot be made by Germany. We can only support our friends in taking steps. As I said before, today is the day to express solidarity and I would not comment further on this topic," he stated.

Manuel Sarrazin met with the Kosovo PM in Pristina but refused to comment on the possibility of EU sanctions lifting against Kosovo due to non-implementation of measures to de-escalate the situation in the north of Kosovo.

"We have been in close coordination with our partners in Kosovo since this situation arose. Of course, the Prime Minister informed us about the current assessment of the situation and the developments according to his opinion. It was very important for us," he briefly concluded, insisting that "today is a day for support and sympathy," reported KiM radio.

Brussels: Lajcak and Escobar with diplomats from France, Germany, and Italy (KiM radio, Tanjug)

EU special envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, State Department special envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar, as well as diplomatic advisers of the leaders of France, Germany and Italy should meet in Brussels today, reported KiM radio, citing Tanjug's diplomatic sources.

The meeting takes place after a conflict broke out near the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo on Sunday.

The international community called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and called on Pristina and Belgrade to devote themselves to preventive diplomacy and dialogue without delay.

Elshani: Police are looking for uniformed attackers (KiM radio)

Kosovo police are intensively searching for uniformed and armed persons with whom they clashed in Banjska yesterday, confirmed to KiM Radio, Veton Elshani, deputy commander of the Kosovo police for the North region.

"We don't know where they are, we are looking for them everywhere, in the forest, everything is being checked," Elshani told Radio Kim briefly.

However, he could not specify when and how the armed persons withdrew from the Banjska monastery.

KiM radio recalls that during yesterday's conflict between the members of the Kosovo Police and the attackers, as they claim in this service, three people were killed and two were wounded. Six people were arrested, among them four men, during a car check in the town of Rudare in the municipality of Zvecan. During the police action, a large number of weapons, ammunition, various equipment, radio communications, vehicles...

According to Kosovo PM Albin Kurti, there were 30 uniformed persons with masks and heavy weapons in and around the mediaeval monastery. According to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, they wanted to violate the sovereignty of Kosovo.

The Kosovo authorities blame official Belgrade for this situation, which they claim supports criminal groups in the north of Kosovo.

On the other hand, the Serbian president accuses Kurti and states that three Serbs from Kosovo were among those killed.

Jarinje and Brnjak still closed for entry in Kosovo (N1)

Administrative crossing points of Jarnje and Brnjak in northern Kosovo are still closed for traffic from the direction of central Serbia, and vehicles can only leave Kosovo, N1 reports.

Vehicles, trucks, buses, but also pedestrians can not enter Kosovo at these two crossing points. Kosovo police placed a visible sign “STOP” on their side.

Currently entry in Kosovo is possible at the administrative point of Merdare or at some of the crossings with Montenegro. There are no vehicles at Jarinje, only dozens of trucks waiting for the decision of Kosovo police to open the administrative crossing point. 

Believers still in Banjska monastery, citizens of North Macedonia went home (Kim Radio, Beta, N1)

Believers from Novi Sad, including two minor children, are still in the Banjska monastery. Citizens from North Macedonia who were accommodated in a hotel in this village went home, reported KiM radio. 

The Diocese of Backa said that the faithful are waiting for the Kosovo police to legitimise them and then let them return to Novi Sad.

For now, it is not known when that could be, and the Diocese says that they expected it to happen yesterday.

North Macedonia citizens who were accommodated in a hotel in the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo, this morning, accompanied by the Kosovo police, went home safely, announced the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani.

He explained that the citizens of North Macedonia went home "after the usual (police) interview and analysis by the police."

"The circumstances in which they were found were complex, given that they were accommodated in a hotel in the immediate vicinity of the place where the armed attack on the police took place (yesterday)," Osmani noted.

BETA: Injured near Banjska transferred to hospital in Novi Pazar (N1, nova.rs, Radio KIM, NMagazin)

At least two unknown men were treated during the afternoon at the Novi Pazar General Hospital for gunshot wounds, BETA news agency learnt unofficially, cited N1.

The BETA news agency source said that they were placed in an intensive case room, that their condition, after the help provided, is stable and that they are out of danger.

According to BETA, they were transported to that health facility around 3 p.m.. 

"They speak Serbian, but they did not want to reveal their identity, nor how and where they were injured," said the source.

The General Hospital did not want to speak to the media.

The portal Nova.rs announced that on Sunday evening members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were securing the entrance to the surgical department of the Novi Pazar hospital, and as reported by a Nova.rs reporter, they are no longer there as of this morning.

Early on Sunday morning, there was an armed conflict near the Banjska monastery, in which one member of the Kosovo police was killed and another was wounded.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said that the armed men were Serbs from Kosovo and that three of them were killed in the exchange of fire with Kosovo forces.

From Pristina, they state that four attackers were killed and five were arrested.

Rada Trajkovic told TV Nova that among Albanians there is a talk that the KP had the capacity to deal with the people who broke into the Banjska monastery and that there would be many more victims, but that the international community played that role and prevented more victims.

"The international community worked on the project of extracting those people towards central Serbia and rescuing them, because what would have happened if 30 people had been killed? I have information that there was a talk, and that someone had to take over those people and the responsibility for those people," said Trajkovic.

Banjska and Novi Pazar are connected by a road through Rogozna, and there is no administrative crossing on that road.

Attacker from Banjska underwent surgery in Pristina (N1)

Director of the Orthopaedic Clinic of Pristina University-Clinical Centre Gani Jashanica said that Serb injured in clashes with Kosovo police in Banjska underwent the surgery at this hospital, adding his condition is stable. 

Due to incompetence of Serbian regime, Kosovo Serbs at mercy of Kurti, Freedom and Justice Party said (Beta, N1, KiM radio)

The Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) assessed that due to the incompetence of the members of the Serbian Progressive Party and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbs in Kosovo were left at the mercy of the crazy regime of Kosovo PM Albin Kurti, who is conducting open terror against them, reported N1. 

"Kurti's refusal to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities, the implementation of illegitimate elections, as well as the repression of Serbs that leads to their rapid emigration are a sure way to tensions and conflicts. On the other hand, Vucic's senseless decision, that Serbian police officers leave the Kosovo police force, left our people without protection from Kurti's repression, as well as from the armed criminals who broke into the Banjska monastery and pointed weapons in the face of the clergy," the SSP said in a statement.

The SSP pointed out that it advocates a dialogue whose focus is people and life, and that this is a guarantee of establishing a sustainable and lasting peace.

Dacic: Kurti wants war (FoNet, Danas)

Those supporting aggression against Serbia in 1999 continue their policy and support Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, whose wish is to cause the war, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said, FoNet news agency reports.

He told Prva TV that the international community practically allows conflict to happen in Kosovo, recalling it was the same in the case of imposing Albanian mayors in the municipal facilities in northern Kosovo.

He also said Serbian people had the right to defend themselves and express political will but that they do not wish conflict with anyone. He opined it was necessary to call KFOR before the incident took place. 

He added Serbs in Kosovo should remain calm and trust their state that would do its utmost to preserve the peace, following yesterday's armed clashes in which three Serbs and one Kosovo police officer were killed.  

Serbian Minister says events in northern Kosovo planned, conflict suits Kurti only (Kosovo Online, TV Pink)

Minister without portfolio, responsible for diaspora in the Serbian Government Djordje Milicevic told TV Pink he believes that yesterday’s incidents in Banjska, in northern Kosovo, “were staged in advance, encouraged and planned”, adding it suits only Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti “to have conflicts, bloodshed and war”.

He also said yesterday was one of the most difficult days for Serbia and Serbs.

“Only one man wishes for conflict, war, bloodshed….The only thing he works on is for that to happen, and that is (Albin) Kurti. We can only preserve our people by peace and stability. When the conflict erupted in North Macedonia, then the world reacted differently, and yesterday reactions were “kill them, let them die”, Milicevic said.

According to him what happened yesterday in Kosovo “was Kurti’s offensive”. 

Regional media: "The state of war", "terrorists" and "the spark that could ignite the region" (NMagazin, N1)

The regional media followed with great attention the events in the village of Banjska on Sunday in Kosovo. They described the situation as "a state of war", "a state of siege", and Croatian Jutarnji list announced that the Pristina authorities could use yesterday's attack on the police as an excuse to introduce a state of emergency in the north of Kosovo, reported portal NMagazin. 

Sarajevo based portal Slobodna Bosna describes the situation in Kosovo as a "state of war", stating that the Pristina special forces surrounded the monastery where the attackers of the Kosovo police were located.

"According to sources from the scene, the Kosovo police are currently attacking an Orthodox monastery located in the immediate vicinity of the village of Banjska, where a police patrol was attacked this morning and one policeman was killed and two were wounded," announced this portal. 

Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje wrote about a recording that appeared on social networks and transmits it, allegedly made in the monastery's premises. ''On the recording, gunfire was heard, as well as people speaking in Serbian with the accent of the inhabitants of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: 'Kikac is coming here... we are safest here" and "at least, they are ours.''

The Podgorica portal Vijesti published an article entitled "Criminal gang could have set fire to the region", in which it was stated that after several months of tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, in one of the most serious incidents in recent years, a KP member was killed.

Zagreb's Jutarnji list wrote that Kosovo was under siege, and that this was the biggest threat so far, "the spark that could cause war". Jutarnji reports the statements of Kosovo PM Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and their view of the events in Banjska.

The media added that the Kosovo government could use this event as "a pretext for creating a state of emergency in the north of Kosovo. The death of the policeman will, in any case, further intensify the crisis that has been going on in Kosovo for a long time."

Serbian citizen arrested in Montenegro suspected of war crimes in Kosovo (Kosovo Online, RTCG, N1)

The officers of the Anti-Crime Sector, together with the officers of the Plav and Berane Security Departments, located and arrested a citizen of Serbia who is wanted by the UNMIK Interpol NCB for war crimes against the civilian population, reported Kosovo Online, citing RTCG. 

"M.V. (61) was deprived of his freedom, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia, who is wanted by NCB Interpol UNMIK, and in order to ensure his presence in the criminal proceedings that are being conducted against him due to reasonable suspicion that he has committed the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population," the police statement said.

M.V. is suspected of having committed the aforementioned criminal offense during 1999 on the territory of the municipality of Pec.

"The person was ordered into extradition custody yesterday by the investigating judge of the High Court in Bijelo Polje," the announcement states.

Post of Serbia: Post office in Banjska intruded, property damaged (RTS)

Post of Serbia enterprise said today it informs the public and its clients in the territory of Zvecan municipality, Banjska village that in the night between 24 and 25 September their post office in this village was stormed by KP. On this occasion, the press statement adds significant material damage was caused, property damaged and equipment stolen.

“By this vandal act not only that the postal services will be temporarily halted in Banjska, moreover inspired by irresponsible and dangerous policy of Albin Kurti intentionally and deliberately they continued with intimidation and destruction of everything Serbian in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as making unimpeded movement difficult, same for work and everyday life of all those opposing such irresponsible policy of Pristina authorities”, the statement reads.  

 

Opinion 

  Palokaj: "Terrorism cannot be a topic of the dialogue" (Koha)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj writes in an opinion piece that “the dialogue in Brussels is a political process, very unsuccessful, and perhaps even a failed one. Attacks against the Kosovo Police in the north were called terrorist even by the EU High Representative. The use of this word by the EU holds weight. Therefore, there is no sense in the calls for what happened in the north on Sunday to be discussed in the dialogue, because terrorism cannot be a topic of the dialogue.”

"The European Union this time was very clear in its reaction to the attacks against the Kosovo Police in Banjska, in the north of the country. Truly, it took a very long time, perhaps too long, for the EU to react to such a grave situation. But this is no surprise for those following the EU. As a highly complex organisation, especially in terms of security affairs and foreign policy, it does not react swiftly. Therefore, it was no surprise that the EU High Representative … made his first statement about the tragedy before 14:00, namely more than 10 hours after the case happened. He had to get the right information from the ground, perhaps even consult at least with some member states, in order to make even a late reaction. And his first statement was clear, it condemned in the harshest way the attacks against the police and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. He also called for an end to attacks and to save the lives of people who were still at risk.

Several hours later, Borrell reacted again. This time after he said that he talked with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. We don’t know what they told him and what he told them. But his statement marked a great turning point because he used the term ‘terrorist attack’, ‘cowardly’ and ‘hideous’. He expressed condolences to the family, colleagues, and loved ones of the police officer who lost his life in the line of duty, and wished speedy recovery to the injured police officers.

In such highly sensitive circumstances, when the fire is ready and it can spread uncontrollably, such statements are necessary and right. Now the entire international community needs to support the Kosovo Police to see its operation to the end, and to support the prosecution and courts to carry out investigations. These processes will help explain the circumstances, who the attackers were, how they got armed, who stands behind them, and what were their ties to the structures of the Serbian state or maybe another state. Because there is always one objective behind terrorist acts.

What seemed unnecessary and in yesterday’s circumstances even meaningless were the calls to discuss the act in the dialogue. This must not happen, and this case should not become hostage to political interests, especially not those related to the Brussels dialogue. Because many things that were included in the dialogue remained unresolved and became even more complicated.

The dialogue in Brussels is a political process, very unsuccessful, and perhaps even a failed one. Attacks against the Kosovo Police in the north were called terrorist even by the EU High Representative. The use of this word by the EU holds weight. Therefore, there is no sense in the calls for what happened in the north on Sunday to be discussed in the dialogue, because terrorism cannot be a topic of the dialogue.

That this security issue should not be included in the dialogue was proved by an attempt by the Serbian President to relativize the attacks, and even justify them by saying several times that they were ‘a reaction by Serbs to Kurti’s terror’. He said several times that ‘this wouldn’t have happened if the Association would be formed’ and that ‘the solution is for there to be no Albanian police officers there but that no one listened to him’. 

With or without intention, several international officials, with their calls, influenced the creation of an atmosphere of mistrust in the north towards the Kosovo Police and even sentiments of hostility towards the special police units. They did not seriously address the statements by Serbia’s state leaders, from the President, the Prime Minister and ministers that ‘the Kosovo Police was carrying out terror against the Serbs in the north’, the use of terms ‘Kurti’s terror’, ‘invading Albanian forces’ and also including their frequent statements that ‘the Serbs would not tolerate occupation and terror’. If one makes such calls, they are war-inciting calls.

Although the President of Serbia said that he ‘expresses condolences’ for the slain Kosovo police officer, he said several times that ‘there is only person to blame for everything and that he is Albin Kurti’. So, even if the Serbs, according to him, ‘did things that were not in Serbia’s interest’, they did so, ‘because they fell for Kurti’s provocations’.

There are doubts that the dialogue affects the situation on the ground and vice versa, that the situation on the ground affects the dialogue. But now there is a new situation with the last terrorist attacks. And there is no room in the dialogue for them."

     

International 

  Siege of Serb monastery in Kosovo ends after militants withdraw (Financial Times)

Unidentified fighters had barricaded themselves inside complex in latest sign of deteriorating ethnic tensions

Armed militants stormed a village in Kosovo on Sunday, shattering months of relative calm in the former Serbian region whose disputed status has fuelled conflict between ethnic Serbs and Albanians. About 30 fighters in unmarked, armoured vehicles descended in the early hours on Banjska, a village near Mitrovica in the north of Kosovo, which has an ethnic Serbian majority. One police officer was killed.

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/2j2rrj9y Why Kosovo’s standoff with Serbs continues 15 years after statehood (Al Jazeera)

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia still formally deems Kosovo to be part of its territory.

The storming of a north Kosovo monastery has thrown attention on persistent trouble in the ethnic Serbian-majority region 15 years after Pristina declared independence.

Here are key facts about the unrest.

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/4ztkejwy Telekom Srbija wins Kosovo appeal (broadbendtvnews.com)

The authorities in Kosovo have accepted an appeal for Telekom Srbija’s MTS to continue operating in the country.

According to N1, the Agency for Business Registers (ARBK) in Pristina was ordered to review all changes and data in the register with strict compliance with the Brussels Agreement and other relevant regulations.

Read more at:  https://tinyurl.com/yrp5w7e6