Explosion damages canal feeding Kosovo power plants; PM alleges Serbian ‘terrorist attack’

(Reuters) – An explosion Friday night damaged a canal in northern Kosovo that supplies water to two coal-fired power plants that generate almost all of the country’s electricity, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, blaming what he called “a terrorist act.” from neighboring Serbia.

There were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of the explosion, which also affected drinking water supplies, was unclear. Serbian authorities did not respond to requests for comment and Reuters found no immediate evidence of Belgrade’s involvement.

“This is a criminal and terrorist attack aimed at destroying our critical infrastructure,” Kurti declared in a televised speech. He said part of the country could be without power if the problem was not solved by morning.

In a sign of ethnic tensions between the two Balkan countries, Kurti echoed Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani in blaming Serbian criminal gangs without providing evidence.

Early this Friday, Kosovo Police announced increased security measures following two recent attacks in which hand grenades were thrown at a police station and a municipal building in northern Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs live. . It was unclear if the incidents were related.

Local media showed images of part of the canal destroyed and leaking water, as well as a strong police presence at the scene.

Faruk Mujka, director of the Ibar-Lepenci water company, told local news portal Kallxo that an explosive device had been thrown into the canal, damaging the wall of a bridge.

He said the water supply, which also supplies drinking water to the capital Pristina, had to be interrupted to solve the problem as soon as possible, as it was the main channel to supply the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK). in Albanian), the country’s main energy supplier.

Independence for Albanian-majority Kosovo came in 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising against Serbian rule. However, tensions persist, especially in the north, where the Serbian minority refuses to recognize Kosovo’s statehood and continues to consider Belgrade its capital.

The EU ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, condemned the attack which he said is already “depriving considerable parts of Kosovo of water supplies”.