Tensions with Serbia: Explosion in Kosovo – Government blames Serbia

In the heavily Serb-populated north of Kosovo, militants are believed to have used an explosive device to damage a water canal that supplies two important coal-fired power plants. Nobody was injured. The police said it was an explosive device weighing 15 to 20 kilos that was activated by a mechanical detonator with a slow-burning wick.

Eight suspects were arrested and weapons, ammunition and other military equipment were confiscated after raids. The power plants can now work again because pipes have been laid at the damaged area, media reported.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti described the incident as an act of terror controlled by Belgrade. Serbia’s government rejected the accusation. The party of Kosovo’s ethnic Serbs, Srpska Lista, condemned the damage to the canal and called for an investigation by the NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR and the EU rule of law mission Eulex. KFOR guarded the damaged canal, the mission wrote in a message to journalists, which is also available to dpa.

Rifles, grenades and detonators confiscated

The raids were carried out in ten different locations, said Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla. The eight arrested are suspected of being linked to both the canal explosion and recent hand grenade attacks on the police station and a municipal facility in the town of Zvecan.

Three hand grenades, two AK47 rifles, a revolver, ammunition of various calibers, detonators for activating explosive devices, 200 military uniforms, military helmets, masks, knives and money were confiscated, said police chief Gazmend Hoxha. The explosion on the canal is classified as an act of terrorism.

The head of government speaks of a terrorist attack

“The attack was carried out by professionals. It is the next criminal and terrorist attack that we believe comes from gangs orchestrated and directed by Serbia,” Kurti said. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic supports these criminal structures. Kurti said that there is “the interest, the willingness and the ability to cause such attacks and damage” on the Serbian side, which is also reflected in the use of large amounts of explosives in the current case.

Kurti also referred to Milan Radoicic, the Kosovo-Serbian businessman who claimed responsibility for a serious incident in September 2023. At that time, a 30-member, heavily armed Serbian commando group had taken up positions in Banjska near Mitrovica in northern Kosovo and fought battles with the Kosovo police. Radoicic fled to Serbia and was not held criminally responsible there.

Serbian President Vucic described the allegations as unfounded, “premature and without evidence,” his party said. This is irresponsible and endangers peace and stability in the region. He called for an impartial investigation with the participation of international partners.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia continue despite international attempts at mediation. Kosovo, which is now inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians, seceded from Serbia in 1999 with NATO help and declared independence in 2008. More than 100 countries, including Germany, recognize independence. However, Serbia has still not come to terms with the loss of its former province and is demanding it back for itself.

Kurti statements on Facebook, Albanian Report on arrests and weapons discoveries, Albanian