Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Xhelal Sveçla accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić of attempting to destabilize Kosovo through, as he stated, criminal groups.
He stated that he will request the Government of Kosovo to designate the Civil Protection and the Northern Brigade as terrorist organizations, in order for the Kosovo authorities to more effectively combat them.
He claimed that Serbian community members who were arrested in Kosovo in recent weeks are “criminals who have been tolerated and granted amnesty in the past”.
Among the arrested individuals from the Serbian community are: Dušan Obrenović, Radoš Petrović, Milun Milenković-Luna, Dalibor Spasić, Uroš Vukašinović, Nemanja Vlašković, Milan Božović, and Slađan Trajković.
According to the authorities in Kosovo, they were arrested for actions against constitutional order, as well as attacks against members of the Kosovo Police, NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) personnel, and journalists during reporting in the northern part of the country.
During a press conference with journalists from South Mitrovica, Sveçla stated that Kosovo will not back down against criminals.
“The rule of law is a priority for us. We are acting according to the law. All these police actions and arrests being made demonstrate that we cannot retreat in the face of criminals, and we remain committed to resolving all attacks and safeguarding all citizens, without distinction.”
Commenting on Kosovo’s operation in the north on June 23, where a vehicle with Belgrade license plates was confiscated along with weapons and explosive devices, Sveçla stated that the Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Intelligence Agency prevented a terrorist attack.
On June 24, in another press conference, the head of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petković claimed that the Kosovo authorities had “planted” the weapons found in northern Kosovo and that they had been confiscated in the past from Albanians and Serbs.
However, Sveçla stated that some of the weapons found are from 2021, and not “leftover from the last war in Kosovo”.
Sveçla called on the international community to condemn what he referred to as Serbia’s terrorist behavior towards Kosovo.
Tensions in northern Kosovo have been high since May 26.
On that day, new Albanian mayors from predominantly Serbian-populated municipalities in the north entered municipal buildings with the assistance of Kosovo Police units.
Local Serbs opposed such actions, leading to ongoing protests.
The international community has urged Kosovo and Serbia to urgently take measures to reduce tensions.
