The conflict between Serbia and Kosovo assumes threatening proportions. Pristina accused Belgrade of advancing its armed forces towards Kosovo – “from three different directions”. This emerges from a statement from the Kosovo government this evening. The advance serves “a possible military aggression against the Republic of Kosovo”.
Units of the Second Brigade of the Serbian Army moved from the direction of Raska towards the northern border of Kosovo, units of the Third Brigade from the Nis region towards the northeastern border and units of the Fourth Brigade from the Vranje region towards the eastern border, the government wrote even more in Prishtina.
Vucic: “Serbia doesn’t want a fight”
Yesterday Serbia sent soldiers and police to 48 forward operating bases along the border with Kosovo, in Serbian territory, a few kilometers from the border with Kosovo. Serbia deployed anti-aircraft systems and heavy artillery. Kosovo, in coordination with international partners, is “more determined than ever to protect territorial integrity,” the government statement said.
Serbian President Aleksander Vucic denied any intention of a military strike against Kosovo in an interview with the Financial Times on Saturday. Instead, he will give the order for Serbian troops to withdraw, as an escalation would be “counterproductive” to Belgrade’s EU aspirations. Serbia will not destroy its own years of efforts. “Serbia doesn’t want war,” he told the newspaper.
Berlin calls for de-escalation
The Foreign Ministry in Berlin appealed to the Serbian government in Belgrade to calm the escalation. “It is important that Serbia immediately reduces troops on the border,” the office wrote on Twitter (X). Berlin and its partners are in “intensive contact” with all parties. The political process must be continued “urgently”.
Washington had already expressed concern about the build-up of Serbian troops on the border with Kosovo. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on the phone with Vucic, who, however, denied sending large troops and spoke of “untruths”.
The trigger for the new tensions was the attack last Sunday by a heavily armed 30-man Serbian commando squad against Kosovar police officers in the town of Banjska, near Mitrovica, in northern Kosovo. Three Serb attackers and a Kosovar police officer were killed.
Radoicic questioned
Kosovo’s leading Serbian politician and businessman, Milan Radoicic, claimed responsibility for this attack. He stated that he carried out the action on his own initiative and did not inform any official Serbian authority. Prishtina’s government considers that Radoicic acting alone is out of the question.
Radoicic has now been questioned by Serbian police about the events in Banjska, near Mitrovica. The Interior Ministry will send its report on the interrogation to the Belgrade Public Prosecutor’s Office for further action, the ministry said in a statement. The broadcast shows that Radoicic is currently in the Serbian capital, although this was not explicitly mentioned.
Kosovo, which is now inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians, separated from Serbia in 1999 with the help of NATO and declared independence in 2008. More than 100 countries, including Austria, recognize independence, but not Serbia, which is to recover their former province.