The Serbian general asks KFOR to "protect the Serbs in Kosovo"

2023-06-23 16:45:35, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Serbian general asks KFOR to "protect the Serbs in Kosovo"

Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, General Millan Mojsilovic

The Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, General Millan Mojsillovic, said on June 23 that he has asked the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, to take urgent measures to protect the Serbian population in Kosovo.

He made this announcement during a short address to the media, on the day when the Kosovo Police arrested a Serb suspected of participating in the attack on KFOR soldiers on May 29 in Zveçan.

General Mojsilovic said that he informed the commander of KFOR, Major General Angelo Michele Ristuccia, that "we are following the events with great anxiety".

"We demand that urgent measures be taken to protect the Serbian population and their right to survival. This is our prayer for KFOR units and other international security institutions in Kosovo and Metohija," Mojsillovi? said.

He added that the Serbian Army will fulfill all international legal obligations arising from United Nations resolution 1244. According to him, it is clear that today the international community is not fulfilling its obligations.

"The Army of Serbia, in accordance with the Serbian Constitution and the UN Charter, if it receives an order from the supreme commander, will perform all its duties in full in relation to the overall security crisis," said Mojsilovic.

On June 23, the Kosovo Police arrested a Serb in North Mitrovica, under suspicion of having participated in the attack on KFOR.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, said that Nenad Orllovic is suspected of having participated in the group that attacked KFOR soldiers on May 29. From the clashes between Serbs and KFOR, dozens of people from both sides were injured.

Authorities in Kosovo have claimed that "criminal groups supported by Belgrade" are behind the attack in Zveçan - one of four municipalities in northern Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs.

The Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government condemned the arrest, claiming that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, is "sabotaging" the dialogue for the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations, which is mediated by the European Union.

Tensions in northern Kosovo have been rising since May 26, when police assisted the new Albanian mayors to enter municipal buildings, despite objections from local Serbs.

Since then, Serbs are continuing to protest in front of municipal buildings in Leposavic, Zveçan and Zubin Potok. The protesters are demanding that the new mayors not work from municipal buildings and that the police be withdrawn from the north.

The international community has called for the immediate escalation of the situation and requested the holding of new elections in the four municipalities in the north.

These requests were repeated by the EU on June 22, after the meetings that the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, held with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksander Vucic.

Kurti said that he is ready to fulfill these demands, but through the rule of law, while Vucic said that there was no agreement on anything in these meetings./ REL