Kosovo Police announced they have arrested a Serbian suspect from North Mitrovica for involvement in the attack on May 29 in Zvečan against KFOR soldiers.

According to the police statement, the suspect, known by the nicknames “Nemac” and “Russian”, has been arrested and taken to a police station on suspicion of being “involved in the attack against KFOR on May 29”.

On that day, around 30 KFOR soldiers were injured during attempts to disperse protesters gathered near the municipal building in Zvečan.

The Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government has identified the arrested individual as Nenad O. According to them, his arrest is evidence that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti “does not desire dialogue or peace but wants to arrest all Serbs and provoke conflicts not only in Kosovo but also in the region”.

On May 31, the Basic Court in Pristina announced that one-month pretrial detention measures had been imposed on two individuals arrested during clashes in Zvečan two days earlier.

Protests in Zvečan, Leposavić, and Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo – a predominantly Serbian-populated area – began on May 26 when groups of local Serbs gathered in front of municipal buildings to protest against the appointment of new Albanian mayors in Zvečan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavić.

How did the situation escalate in the north?

On June 13, Kosovo Police carried out an operation in North Mitrovica, where they arrested Milun Milenković. Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla stated that the arrested individual is suspected to be one of the organizers of the events in Zvečan on May 29.

A day after that, three members of the Kosovo Police were arrested by Serbian forces in the northern part of the country, an action that the Government of Kosovo has described as abduction. Serbian authorities have issued a 30-day pretrial detention measure against them.

To calm the situation in the north, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell invited the Prime Minister of Kosovo and the President of Serbia to a meeting on June 22, where they agreed on holding new elections.

In the response from the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, it is further stated that this action undermines the requests of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, during the June 22 meeting.