Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Sveçla shared a video on social media on Tuesday in which he claims to identify Milan Radoičić, the Deputy Leader of the Serb List, during the attack on the Kosovo Police in the northern part of the country on September 24.
In the description of the video on Facebook, Sveçla wrote, “The person seen in the footage below is Milan Radoičić, Deputy Leader of the Serb List, who is also on the blacklists of the United States and the United Kingdom for his involvement in international organized crime”.
Talking to Euronews Albania this Tuesday, Minister Sveçla declared that while investigations are yet ongoing, it can be proved that the group of attackers were led by Radoičić, who is now in a hospital in Belgrade, receiving treatment for his injuries during the fire exchange. The minister also provided that other injured members of the attacking group are in the same hospital.
Radoičić, who is the Deputy Leader of the largest Serbian party in Kosovo with support from Belgrade, is wanted by Kosovo authorities. He is also listed on the blacklists of the U.S. and the UK for his alleged role in international organized crime activities.
Kosovo is seeking Radoičić’s extradition on suspicion of involvement in witness intimidation related to a judicial case known as “Brezovica”. Additionally, he is on the U.S. blacklist for alleged corruption and involvement in international criminal activities.
Radoičić is also mentioned in a criminal indictment as the “leader of a criminal group” that supposedly planned the assassination of Serbian politician Oliver Ivanović. However, the arrest warrant for Milan Radoičić was withdrawn in March 2021 without explanation.
Neither the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who has expressed support for the Serb List, nor the Serb List itself has commented on Minister Sveçla’s allegations.
According to the minister, the plan of the Serbian terrorists led by Radoičić and orchestrated by Vučić, was the destabilization of the northern region of Kosovo. Sveçla said that the weaponry found in Banjska was enough for an army with 200 recruits.
“We are talking about 200 potentially recruited individuals who would have been part of this scenario. The plan was for them to descend further south to the Ibar River line and, through attacks, hinder the Kosovo Police from operating freely and then declare some form of autonomy or something else,” Sveçla explained.
The minister drew parallels between this scenario and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans for the region of Donbas in 2014.
On Tuesday, Kosovo Police continued their search of homes and properties in and around the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo. This action follows the armed confrontation that occurred two days prior.
During these searches in the north, Kosovo Police discovered a significant cache of weaponry.
The incident on September 24 involved an early morning attack by a group of masked and armed individuals on the Kosovo Police, who were attempting to remove roadblocks in the village of Banjska in Zvecan.
The attack resulted in the death of Kosovo Police officer Afrim Bunjaku and injuries to several other officers. During the exchange of gunfire, three Serbian nationals were killed by the police, and eight others were arrested.
