Just a day after Kosovo’s acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, accused Belgrade of “planning and carrying out terrorist attacks in Kosovo,” the Kosovo Police issued a statement of a completely different tone today — saying that the border area is “calm and fully under control.”The two institutions were reacting to two separate incidents.
Sveçla warns of attacks
Reacting yesterday to the discovery of ten detonator fuses in the municipality of Leposavic, and before the official investigation was completed, Sveçla accused Serbia of using “criminal and terrorist gangs” to both conduct and plan attacks in Kosovo.
“Serbia, through criminal and terrorist gangs, continues to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against the Republic of Kosovo,” he said.
He stated that the recently found devices could have been used for “dangerous terrorist attacks,” adding that Kosovo would respond “as those criminal gangs deserve,” insisting that “there is no turning back.”
“The presence of the Kosovo Police and our security institutions made it possible for such devices, which could be used for dangerous terrorist attacks, to be seized, and for serious incidents aimed at causing damage, insecurity, and intimidation to be avoided or minimized. Constitutionality, legality, order and justice will prevail over every terrorist, mafia and criminal cell. There is no turning back,” Sveçla said.
Police say the situation is calm
The Kosovo Police statement issued today, however, does not reflect the minister’s assessment of the security situation.
The police reacted to deny reports published yesterday by several Serbian media outlets, which claimed — citing their own sources — that a group of Albanians had opened fire on members of the Serbian Army near the “Debela Glava” base.
RTS and Novosti reported that the incident allegedly took place around 3 p.m. at the foot of Mount Šop, inside the Ground Safety Zone. According to these outlets, the group supposedly fired around 15 shots toward Serbian Army personnel, injuring a nearby dog.
They also claimed the group fled toward Kosovo in six jeeps.
KoSSev reached out to KFOR yesterday regarding the claims published in Belgrade-based media, but we have not yet received a response.
Today, the Kosovo Police rejected the allegations, describing them as “disinformation” that does not correspond to any officially confirmed event.
“The Kosovo Police informs the public that the claims published in certain Serbian media — according to which an armed group of Albanians shot (opened fire) at members of the Serbian Army near the so-called ‘Debela Glava’ base — are disinformation, unfounded, and do not correspond to any official information or event verified by the authorities on the territory of the Republic of Kosovo,” the statement reads.
The police accused the outlets that published what they describe as false information of contributing to “unnecessary tensions.”
“Publishing such inaccurate information contributes to creating false perceptions and increasing unnecessary tensions in the border areas,” they said.
In contrast to the minister’s warnings about prevented attacks and potential new ones, the Kosovo Police insisted that the situation on the ground remains stable:
“The Kosovo Police assures citizens and the public that the situation in the border area has been and continues to remain calm and fully under the control of the authorities.”
Sveçla Accuses Belgrade of Destabilizing Kosovo After Detonator Fuses Found Near Gnjezdane
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
