Kosovo Police: Three officers are suspected to have been kidnapped by Serbian forces in the north

2023-06-14 15:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo Police: Three officers are suspected to have been kidnapped by Serbian

Illustrative photo

Kosovo Police said that on Wednesday afternoon, three border officials were allegedly kidnapped by Serbian forces during a patrol in a place called Tresave/Bare, on the border line in the north of Kosovo.

This village is located in the municipality of Leposavi?.

According to an announcement by the Kosovo Police, the police unit has been carrying out a patrol "deep inside the territory of Kosovo" to prevent the use of illegal roads, which according to this institution are used by criminal groups" for illegal crossing and smuggling.

The police said that this unit, consisting of three border officials, announced that they had noticed masked and armed persons and that they had asked for assistance and that other police units had gone towards them.

"Upon reaching that location, the assistance units noticed only the official car, but not even the police officials who were on duty at that location. In the direction of this location, other police units immediately went, as well as other security institutions were informed, including KFOR, as it is suspected that the police officers were kidnapped by the Serbian forces", the announcement states.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, said that "Criminal Serbia has entered the territory of Kosovo and kidnapped 3 police officers of the Republic of Kosovo".

"Without a doubt, our police officers have been stationed deep within the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, at a static checkpoint, performing their regular duties. We do not back down before criminals and terrorists. Serbia is again showing its true face and that of an autocratic and aggressive state," he wrote on Facebook.

He asked the international factor to "urgently increase the pressure on Serbia not only to release our police officers, but also to stop its provocations".

The police also said that various Serbian media have reported that Serbian special units "arrested Kosovo Police officials".

Currently, there is no official information on this issue from official Belgrade. The Director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petkovic, has announced an extraordinary press conference at 16:00.

Neither the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs nor the Serbian Information Agency (BIA) have responded to Radio Free Europe's request for comment.

This event is happening at a time when tensions in the north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs, have increased.

The tensions started on May 26, when the new Albanian mayors of the municipalities in the north, under the assistance of the Kosovo Police, entered the municipal buildings, amid the opposition of the local Serbs.

Tensions culminated on May 29, when in Zveçan, Serbian protesters clashed with members of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR. Dozens of people from both sides were injured in the clashes./ RFEL