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Two versions of the same event. For the Belgrade authorities it was a “capture” of three “fully armed” Kosovo policemen inside Serbian territory; for Pristina officials, the action was a “kidnapping” on Kosovar territory.
First modification:
A fact that increases bilateral tensions when they are at their highest point, with the friction at the end of May still fresh. At the time, 30 NATO Forces in Kosovo (KFOR) soldiers were injured amid riots with protesters in mostly Serb areas.
For the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, what happened this Wednesday is “the responsibility of the Serbian government” and that what happened represents a “act of aggression designed to escalate and destabilize”.
On his Twitter account he published a message for the international authorities: “TThree Kosovo policemen were abducted today by the Serbian Armed Forces inside the borders of Kosovo. Both the incursion of the forces and the kidnapping are open acts of international aggression. We call for the immediate release of the officers and for the international community to denounce these facts”.
Three Kosova Police officers were abducted today by Serbian Armed Forces within Kosova’s borders. Both the incursion of the forces & the abduction are open acts of int’l aggression. We call for the officers’ immediate release, and for the int’l community to denounce these acts.
—Albin Kurti (@albinkurti) June 14, 2023
However, his call had the opposite effect, because this same Wednesday, the European Union said that it had agreed on punitive measures against the Kosovar prime minister, accusing him of not taking the necessary measures “to defuse the crisis.”
On the other side, the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, He applauded what he called the “professionalism” of his country’s police officers who arrested the uniformed Kosovars and denied claims that Serb officers crossed the border in the operation.
Kurti is focused on seeking war. The region is now at a crossroads between war and peace, Vučić said on Serbian state broadcaster.
Serbia’s chief negotiator with Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, denied that the police officers were kidnapped, instead claiming that the three men were “deep in Serbian territory,” in an argument he used to dispel doubts about the made.
Petkovic noted that Serbia was ready to offer evidence to support its claim and called for an international investigation and that “the terrorist gang” was arrested “because they crossed the administrative line in full combat gear.”
What is known about the captures?
Kosovo Police said in a statement that the three policemen called for help after seeing armed men wearing masks in Kosovo territory, near the border north of the capital Pristina.
Later, when other members of the security forces arrived at the scene, they found an empty police car and suspected that the three officers had been “kidnapped” by Serb forces. However, at this point, the Kosovo authorities did not explain their argument or provide any other details as to why they claim the officers were kidnapped.
For their part, the Serbian Security Forces released photos of three uniformed men lying face down in a field at the edge of a forest, with machine guns and radio equipment positioned near them.
To these photos, some time later, was added a video showing the three men blindfolded and handcuffed, being led by Serb officers to parked police cars.
At the time, the Reuters news agency learned that the Kosovo Police contacted the NATO-led international peacekeeping forces, known as KFOR, and other security institutions and international organizations to demand the release of the officers.
In another strict measure, due to the escalation of tensions, Kosovo prohibited the entry of all vehicles with Serbian license plates.
With the aim of increasing security at all borders and crossings, we have decided to stop all vehicles with Serbian license plates. They will not be able to enter the territory of Kosovo, Nora Fetoshi, an adviser to the interior minister, told Reuters.
Why did the tension in the region intensify?
Serbia and Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Belgrade refused to recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.
Serbia has rejected this fact and continues to consider the region as an autonomous province. Russia does not recognize its sovereignty either.
In this way, Serbia and Kosovo have been enemy countries, but they are negotiating the normalization of their relations on a plan of the European Union, supported by the United States, to achieve this, both parties must normalize their relations if they want to join the group.
Tensions in Kosovo flared again late last month, including violent clashes. At that time, Kosovo police seized local municipal buildings in the north of the territory, an area where Serbs are in the majority and have the power to install ethnic Albanian mayors.
That May 29, the conflict exploded when a group of civilians tried to force their way into the government buildings of the municipality.
International troops and the Kosovar Police, in charge of guarding these places, repelled the demonstrators with pepper spray.
The clashes left more than 50 demonstrators and 30 soldiers injured and KFOR reported that three of the wounded soldiers, of Hungarian nationality, received bullet wounds.
With Reuters and AP
