The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, said that all police patrols in the country will be equipped with long guns.

“With the purchase of these weapons for all police patrols throughout the Republic of Kosovo, the efficiency in fighting crime increases, which enables a safer environment, calmer public order and more security for our police officers,” Sveçla wrote on Facebook.

However, the Minister of the Interior did not reveal how many weapons were purchased, but he only thanked Croatia “for the close and correct cooperation with the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo”.

The budget of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for this year is the largest budget in recent years, and it amounts to 216,523,467 euros.

The Kosovo Police was formed 24 years ago and has over 9,000 members, who have different ranks. The police is the first security responder in Kosovo and then comes the European Union Rule of Law mission (EULEX) and the NATO peacekeeping mission, KFOR.

KFOR is responsible for the security of Kosovo’s borders with Serbia, while the Kosovo Police is responsible for the rest of the border line.