Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that three Kosovo police officials were kidnapped on Wednesday in Leposavic by Serbian police, something Belgrade denies, with Pristina banning Serbian cars from entering the country. Meanwhile, observers note the alleged kidnapping would violate the Kumanovo Agreement as Serbian forces are not allowed to enter Kosovo or the five-kilometre buffer zone at the border.
On Wednesday, Kurti said the police officers were near an illegal smuggling route 300 metres inside the border of Kosovo.
“We suspect that they were kidnapped by the Serbian army, clearly as revenge by Serbia for yesterday’s arrest of the notorious criminal Milun ‘Lune’ Milenkovic, who represents one of the leaders of organised crime and smuggling,” Kurti wrote on Facebook.
The Kumanovo Agreement, otherwise known as the Military Technical Agreement, was signed between KFOR, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia in 1999 and marked the end of the Kosovo War. It details a 25km air safety zone and a 5km land safety zone (GSZ)around the Kosovo border, which Serbian military forces cannot enter.
This means not only can they not enter Kosovo, but they cannot set foot on their own territory within five kilometres of the border.
“We request the immediate release of three kidnapped police officers and call on international factors to condemn this aggression by Serbia,” Kurti said.
A Kosovo police report said the officers were on duty at a static checkpoint to prevent the use of illegal roads previously used for illegal border crossings and smugglings. They say the officers informed they had spotted masked and armed persons and requested backup. Upon arrival at the scene, the backup units found the officer’s vehicle, but not the officers.
Kosovo Police said they had informed KFOR and other security institutions “because there are suspicions that police officers have been kidnapped”.
Serbia, however denies Kosovo’s claim that the officers were kidnapped “deep within Kosovo”. Belgrade, which does not recognise Kosovo’s border and instead calls it an “administrative line”, denies the kidnapping and says the officers were apprehended in Serbia.
Director of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic said the officers were arrested ihnn Gnjilca “deep in the territory of central Serbia” and that Serbian authorities did not enter Kosovo.
“Petkovic said the Serbian police had “obviously prevented” the arrested people “in their intention to commit a dangerous criminal act”.
“The investigation will determine which criminal offence it is about and what was actually the intention.”
British MP Alicia Kearns said that if the Kosovar officers had indeed been kidnapped, it would be a very serious escalation and would “warrant a significant sanctioning by Western powers who have not held back from sanctions and criticism of Kosovo for far, far less.”
Boban Bogdanovic, the general-secretary of the Institute for Europe-Atlantic Strategy said the actions of Serbia have “directly put all citizens of Serbia in danger due to possible NATO intervention.” He added that Aleksander Vucic is likely behind the incident to trigger further escalation to take the heat of ongoing anti-government protests in Belgrade.
“Vucic is facing massive protests across Serbia due to the violence of his government, and the only way to deal with the opposition is to immediately introduce a state of war and emergency in Serbia.”
KFOR confirmed that it did not give consent for Serbian authorities to enter the 5km zone, or cross Kosovo’s border.
Shortly after the incident, Kosovo announced it would ban the entry of all cars with Serbian plates into the country.
“For security reasons, the institutions have decided to increase the level of border controls. Therefore, as an immediate step, it has been decided to prohibit the entry of vehicles with Serbian license plates into the Republic of Kosovo, while the analysis of the situation by the security institutions continues. The next actions will be taken based on the recommendations to law enforcement institutions”, said government spokesperson Preparim Kryeziu.
Serbian media has published photos of the Kosovo police officers, showing them with hands tied, face down on the ground with their radios and service weapons next to them.
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
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