Violence Breaks Out in Kosovo as Ethnic Serb Gunmen Storm Monastery
In a disturbing turn of events on Sunday, armed ethnic Serb individuals in armored vehicles launched an attack on a village in northern Kosovo. This led to clashes with the police and the subsequent occupation of a monastery, resulting in the loss of four lives. The fighting centered around the Serbian Orthodox monastery near the village of Banjska, where monks and pilgrims sought refuge inside the temple while gunfire echoed outside.
According to both Kosovo police and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a group of Kosovo Serbs barricaded a bridge leading to the village, engaging in a shootout with approaching police officers. The confrontation then spilled over to the nearby monastery. Reports state that the armed gunmen vacated the premises under the cover of darkness, but their exact whereabouts remain unclear.
Serbian President Vucic denounced the attack as a rebellion against Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who recently refused to establish an association of Serb municipalities in north Kosovo. In a strong show of defiance, Vucic declared, Serbia will never recognize independent Kosovo, you can kill us all.
The violence has been met with condemnation from various international bodies. The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell have spoken out against the bloodshed. Borrell held talks with both Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic regarding the situation.
In response to the escalation, NATO troops, along with members of the EU police force EULEX and Kosovo police, have initiated patrols on the road leading to Banjska. Kosovo border police have also shut down two crossings with Serbia.
The issue at the heart of the conflict stems from long-standing demands by Serbs in north Kosovo for the implementation of a 2013 EU-brokered deal, which would create an association of autonomous municipalities in their region. Nonetheless, talks sponsored by the EU to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo stalled recently, with the blame placed on Prime Minister Kurti for failing to establish the association.
The Pristina government views the proposition as a potential catalyst for the formation of a separate mini-state within Kosovo, effectively partitioning the country along ethnic lines. Meanwhile, Serbia still officially regards Kosovo as part of its territory but denies any allegations of fanning the flames of conflict within its neighbor’s borders. Belgrade accuses Pristina of disregarding the rights of minority Serbs.
Tensions escalated further earlier this year when ethnic Albanian mayors assumed office in north Kosovo, following elections that the Serbs boycotted. This sparked clashes in which dozens of protesters and NATO peacekeepers were injured.
To this day, NATO maintains approximately 3,700 troops in Kosovo, representing a reduced presence from the original 50,000-strong force deployed in 1999. The region of north Kosovo, where Serbs comprise the majority, reflects an extension of Serbia in many aspects. The local administration, public servants, teachers, doctors, and major infrastructure projects in the area receive funding from Belgrade.
