Kosovo Police arrested a Serb in Graçanica suspected of war crimes in Kosovo.

According to the statement, the arrested individual, identified by the initials D.M., is suspected of the criminal offense of “war crimes against the civilian population”.

He is suspected of having systematically tortured, physically and psychologically abused, and committed inhumane and extreme acts against Albanian prisoners during the war in Kosovo, while serving as a guard at the Lipjan prison.

The police stated that during the search of the suspect’s house, they seized material evidence, including a revolver, ammunition, a military knife, a metal shovel, as well as documents, decisions, notes, and his personal phone.

Following this arrest, local Serbs gathered in front of the police station in Graçanica, a municipality predominantly inhabited by Serbs located near Pristina, and briefly blocked the main Pristina-Gjilan road that passes through this municipality.

They demanded the release of the arrested individual.

Graçanica is one of the six municipalities with a Serbian majority located in the south of the Ibri region.

The Serb List, the main party representing Serbs in Kosovo, and the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government have reacted following this arrest.

The Serb List stated that the arrest is “unfounded”. The party claimed that the arrested person is Dragiša Milenković and added that there is a “hunt for Serbs in front of the eyes of the international community”.

The Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government stated that the arrest is a “revenge plan against Serbs” by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, without providing any evidence to support this claim.

The war in Kosovo in 1998/99 ended with NATO’s bombing campaign against the Serbian forces.

It is believed that more than 13,000 civilians were killed during the war, and thousands of others went missing. Over 1,600 individuals, mostly Albanians, remain unaccounted for.