Ernesa Shala is a JURIST employees correspondent in Kosovo and a current graduate of the College of Pristina College of Regulation. She information this dispatch from Pristina.
Within the early morning of September 24, 2023, the peaceable village of Banjska close to Kosovo’s Serbian border was a goal of terrorist assaults which left one Kosovo Police officer lifeless, one with extreme accidents and one other with comparatively minor accidents. The assaults had been the primary assaults within the space in a number of months.
Round 03:00, the police arrived in Banjska the place a blockade of the highway by two vans had been reported. Upon arriving on the scene, cops had been attacked from a number of totally different positions with “an arsenal of firearms, together with hand grenades and shoulder-fired missiles” in accordance with stories. The terrorist group is claimed to have numbered roughly 30 people who then fled and hid within the Banjska Monastery in Zvecan, the place they sought refuge whereas persevering with their assaults on the police.
In a tweet, the Diocese of Raska-Prizren mentioned that the gunmen stormed contained in the monastery, the place clergymen and pilgrims locked themselves contained in the monastery’s temple for security.
In a statement to the media, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti declared that ” it is a skilled terrorist formation which ready this assault”. He additionally said that “it is a mercenary construction which is financially supported by Belgrade”.
Because of lively capturing between the 2 events that went on for a number of hours, 3 gunmen were killed and 4 arrested. In the meantime the police are investigating the escape of the remainder of the terrorists in case they infiltrated the pilgrims within the monastery.
After the Kosovo police surrounded the monastery, Minister of Inside Affairs Xhelal Sveçla mentioned that the police had found a unprecedented quantity of heavy explosive infantry weapons, logistics, meals and gear for barricades, sufficient for a number of hundred different attackers.
President Vjosa Osmani has declared Monday a day of state mourning in honor of policeman Afrim Bunjaku, who was killed within the assault at the moment within the early hours of the morning.
Kosovo is left in shock by these terrifying occasions. The residents, state officers and worldwide actors demand justice and a complete investigation into the motives of this atrocious act. Because the nation grieves the lack of one among its protectors, Kosovo stays resolute in its dedication to sustaining peace and safety inside its borders.
Opinions expressed in JURIST Dispatches are solely these of our correspondents within the discipline and don’t essentially replicate the views of JURIST’s editors, employees, donors or the College of Pittsburgh.
