Hours after the fatal shooting of a police officer in Kosovo, security forces, as announced by the country’s prime minister, have surrounded a group of at least 30 armed men.
Albin Kurti called for the surrender of the group, stating that they were holed up in a monastery located in the northern village of Banjska.
Mr. Kurti has pointed fingers at Serbia, alleging their support for what he termed a “terrorist attack” that resulted in the injury of another officer.
The NATO-led peacekeeping contingent stationed in Kosovo has announced the presence of troops in the area and their preparedness to act if the situation warrants.
Tensions in Kosovo have surged as a result of violent confrontations that ensued following a contentious local election in May.
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The EU’s efforts to broker political discussions with the goal of stabilising the situation have stalled.
Kosovo proclaimed its independence in 2008, yet Serbia, supported by key allies China and Russia, refuses to acknowledge it.
For many Serbs, it’s regarded as the birthplace of their nation. However, among Kosovo’s 1.8 million residents, 92% are ethnic Albanians, while only 6% are ethnic Serbs.
The shooting on Sunday took place at about 03:00 (01:00 GMT) as police responded to reports of a blockade in Banjska, near the Serbian border.
Officers were attacked from several different positions with ‘an arsenal of firearms, including hand grenades and shoulder-fired missiles’, they said in a statement.
‘We can see armed people in uniforms…they are firing on us and we are firing back,’ Kosovo police official Veton Elshan told AFP news agency by phone from Banjska.
The Serbian Orthodox Church stated that a monastery in Leposavic, where pilgrims from the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad were residing, had been targeted by gunmen.
For their safety, priests and pilgrims found shelter within the monastery’s temple, as disclosed by the Diocese of Raska-Prizren, where intermittent gunshots could be heard.
The prime minister accused organised criminals of having political, financial, and logistical support from Belgrade in their “attack on our nation.”
Mr. Kurti said that both the individuals responsible and those who gave them orders would face consequences.