TIRANA, Sept. 25, 2023 – A Kosovo Police officer was killed, and several others were wounded on Sunday in clashes with an armed group in the northern part of the country, which is predominantly inhabited by Serbs.
Three members of the heavily armed 30-men group wearing military-style clothes and using armed vehicles were killed by police. Several were arrested by Kosovo authorities.
The incident has raised concerns and brought the long-standing Kosovo-Serbia dispute back into the international spotlight. It has also raised questions about the effectiveness of diplomatic efforts and the potential for further violence in the region.
-Clash details, and Kosovo response-
In the early morning hours of Sunday, Kosovo’s rapid reaction units observed the placement of two heavy-tonnage trucks on the bridge at the entrance to the village of Banjskë. These unregistered trucks had blocked passage. When three police units arrived at the scene, they came under gunfire, including hand grenades and other heavy weaponry. This resulted in the tragic death of one Kosovo police officer, Afrim Bunjaku, and the injury of another officer.
“This concerns a terrorist and criminal formation, professional, which planned and prepared what it carried out today. It does not represent a contraband gang but rather a mercenary structure, politically, financially, and logistically supported by official Belgrade,” Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti said.
Kosovo’s interior ministry revealed the discovery of a large amount of weapons that were with the armed group.
“The Kosovo Police have discovered an extraordinary amount of heavy weaponry, ammunition, explosives, uniforms, logistics, food supplies, barricade equipment, and it can be said freely that these preparations were massive, aimed at massively attacking the Kosovo Police, attacking the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, and seriously threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo,” Interior Minister Minister Sveçla told the media.
-International response-
NATO’s mission in Kosovo, KFOR, condemned the killing of the Kosovo police office and stated its readiness to intervene if necessary.
U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier strongly denounced the “violent and orchestrated attacks” against the Kosovo Police.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called for the restoration of calm and stability, adding “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the hideous attack by an armed gang against Kosovo Police officers.”
Charles Kupchan, a researcher at the American Council on Foreign Relations, noted in a VoA interview that the international community will have to do more moving forward.
“I think the United States and the EU will see this as a warning sign. I would not be surprised if we see a possible increase in the scale of international community presence in the region,” he said.
-Security experts’ views-
Security experts have pointed out that the group responsible for the attack appeared to be well-organized and well-prepared. Some likened it to the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, while others claimed that it couldn’t have operated without the knowledge of Serbian authorities.
The attackers’ equipment, weaponry, and tactics resembled those used in conflict zones, indicating a high level of organization and support.
“These uniforms resemble the [Russian mercenary] Wagner group. It appears that this organized group was also an imitator of the Wagner group,” Avni Islami, a professor of security sciences in Prishtina, told RFE/RL.
-Reaction from Serbia-
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic placed blame on Kosovo’s Prime Minister Kurti for the situation in the north and accused NATO peacekeeping forces of granting permission to Kosovo Police to kill the group of Serbs who had killed a police officer.
“I don’t want to justify the killing of the policeman. It is to be condemned and it shouldn’t have happened … when it’s known that Kurti is the instigator of chaos in Kosovo,” Vucic said at a press conference.
He dismissed the possibility of Serbia’s military or police being involved in the events of Sunday. Despite his willingness to engage in negotiations, Serbia, he stated, would “never recognize Kosovo’s independence.”
-Tirana condemns attack, calls for de escalation-
All political actors and leaders in Albania have condemned the attack on Kosovo Police, with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama issuing a call for immediate action.
“The tragedy of losing the life of a Kosovo Police officer is the loudest alarm bell to date for the ongoing risk of escalating the protracted crisis into an armed conflict. Those criminals who took the life of an innocent individual serving under the state uniform of the Republic of Kosovo must face justice,” Rama wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Rama went further, emphasizing the importance of the Euro-Atlantic community’s intervention and asserting that it must exert its full influence to bring both Kosovo and Serbia back to the table of normalization dialogue.
“The call for an extraordinary peace conference, under the supervision of the European Union and the United States, alongside the implementation of all extraordinary measures with KFOR, to prevent further escalation of the situation, is a strategic imperative not only for security and stability in Kosovo today but also for the future peace of the region. It is vital that we act before the prolonged crisis in northern Kosovo spirals out of control and becomes a destabilizing blaze for the entire region,” Prime Minister Rama added.
After the statement, Rama faced public criticism in Albania for being too soft on Serbia and not doing enough to support Kosovo as tensions have increased in recent months.
-Renewed conflict could undo years of efforts to normalize relations-
As international actors seek to de-escalate the situation, the underlying issues between Kosovo and Serbia remain unresolved, posing ongoing challenges to peace and stability in the Balkans.
Relations between Kosovo and Serbia have been marked by decades of conflict, tension and diplomatic efforts to find a lasting solution. Kosovo, a region with a predominantly Albanian population, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, a move that was met with international recognition by some countries but vehemently opposed by Serbia, backed by Russia and a handful of other nations.
Since then, the two countries have engaged in a series of negotiations and dialogues, facilitated by the European Union and other international actors, in an attempt to normalize their relations and address key issues such as the status of Kosovo’s Serb-majority areas and the rights of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.
Despite some progress, including agreements on issues like freedom of movement and trade, deep-seated political, ethnic, and historical divisions continue to pose significant challenges to achieving a comprehensive and lasting resolution to the Kosovo-Serbia dispute.
