Kosovo launches preliminary investigation into shooting incidents on the border with Montenegro

2025-09-30 17:37:06, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo launches preliminary investigation into shooting incidents on the border

Kosovo's acting government spokesman, Përparim Kryeziu, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Tuesday that authorities have launched preliminary investigations to identify the possible perpetrators of the shooting incidents on the border with Montenegro, for which Montenegrin authorities have sent a verbal note to the Kosovo Embassy in Podgorica.

Montenegro has said that the gunfire is suspected to have originated from the Kosovo side in the area near the Montenegrin ski resort of Hajlla-Shtedim, close to the border between the two countries.

The first incident occurred in July last year, when damage was observed in the cabin of the ski center, while the second incident occurred on August 24 this year, when shots were fired at a facility in the ski center. Montenegrin authorities have opened cases and are conducting investigations into the cases.

Kryeziu said that the state of Kosovo was notified through diplomatic channels by the Montenegrin state about the incidents and that the Kosovo Border Police immediately began patrolling the Shtedim area, but that no material evidence was found there that confirms the location or circumstances of the incident.

"However, upon instruction from the Basic Prosecution Office in Peja, preliminary investigations have begun to identify the possible perpetrators, also relying on information from local sources," Kryeziu announced.

He said that security institutions, namely the Kosovo Police, have expressed their willingness to organize a meeting with Montenegrin border authorities with the aim of intensifying cooperation, exchanging operational information and preventing negative phenomena along the border line, and that this year alone, the two countries have conducted 30 joint patrols in border areas.

Fadil Gashi from the Kosovo Police for the Peja region told Radio Free Europe a few days ago that there is no information about security incidents on the border with Montenegro, and that the regional police are more engaged "in maintaining public order and peace", and not in international incidents.

Montenegro and Kosovo signed the Demarcation Agreement in 2015. Montenegro ratified it the same year, while the Kosovo Assembly three years later./REL