Pristina, Sept. 28, (dpa/GNA) – Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Thursday urged Western countries to impose sanctions on Serbia in response to an attack earlier this week in which a Kosovar police officer and at least three attackers were killed.
“If this goes unpunished, Serbia will repeat this crime,” Kurti told parliament in Pristina.
He also demanded that Belgrade should deport those involved in the attack so that they could stand trial in Kosovo. On Sunday, a group of 30 heavily armed men crossed the border from Serbia to enter the village of Banjska, engaging in a gunbattle with Kosovar police.
“The military weapons that these professional fighters used in Bajnska all come from Serbia and are brand new,” Kurti told parliament. “Serbia equipped them militarily and trained them militarily in Serbia.”
The Kosovar government has published what it sees as evidence showing support for and even control of the attack from Belgrade.
There is reported to be film taken by drone showing Serbian politician and businessman Milan Radoičić among the attackers in Banjska wearing military uniform.
Radoičić is active in politics in Kosovo as vice president of the Serb List, which represents Serb interests in the Pristina parliament. He lives officially in Belgrade and is reported to enjoy the confidence of Serbian President Aleksandsar Vučić.
Speaking in a television interview on Wednesday evening, Vučić said that Radoičić was currently in Serbia and would “have to answer questions put by our authorities.”
Kosovo, which is largely Albanian by population, broke away from Serbia in 1999 with the aid of NATO and declared independence in 2008. The Serbian minority is concentrated in the north.
While more than 100 countries have acknowledged its independence, Serbia, Russia, China and five EU member states have not.
Belgrade is demanding the return of its former province. EU-mediated negotiations on normalizing relations have so far been fruitless.
GNA