Gunmen engaged in a shootout with police in the northern village of Banska near the border with Serbia (in Kosovo). The attackers barricaded themselves in the Orthodox monastery. During the confrontation, one law enforcement officer and three attackers were killed. Two police officers were injured.
Reuters writes about it.
The Serbian Orthodox Church reported that armed men left the monastery during the night. It is not known where they are.
According to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, this attack occurred because Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti refused to form an association of Serbian municipalities in northern Kosovo.
"Serbia will never recognize an independent Kosovo, so you can kill us all," he noted.
Kosovo Interior Minister Jelal Svekla said police had found a large quantity of weapons, explosives and uniforms, "enough for hundreds of other attackers" — allegedly indicating preparations for a mass attack. Border guards of Kosovo closed two checkpoints on the border with Serbia.
The head of the UN mission in Kosovo Caroline Ziade and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell condemned the violence in Kosovo. According to Borrellʼs office, he spoke with Kurti and Vucic on September 24.
- Almost 50 000 ethnic Serbs living in northern Kosovo refuse to recognize the authority of the partially recognized republic and still consider themselves part of Serbia.
- On March 18, 2023, Kosovo and Serbia agreed on a plan to normalize relations. This agreement commits Kosovo to immediately begin negotiations on granting the Serbian community in Kosovo an appropriate level of self-government. Within 30 days, Belgrade and Pristina were to establish a joint monitoring committee chaired by the EU. The parties also agreed to urgently approve the declaration of missing persons. For its part, the EU had to organize a donor conference on investment and financial assistance to Kosovo and Serbia within 150 days. However, until the parties fulfill all provisions of the agreement on the normalization of relations, no payments will be made.
- Recently, negotiations on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo reached an impasse. The EU accused Kurti of not creating an association of Serb-majority municipalities that would have given them more autonomy.