PRISTINA, Sept 11 (Askume) – Kosovo announced on Wednesday the prosecution of 45 suspects on terrorism charges, nearly a year after Serb gunmen attacked a village in northern Kosovo and exchanged gunfire with police, leaving four people dead, including a police officer.
It was the region’s worst violence since the western Balkan republic declared independence from Serbia in 2008, raising tensions between Pristina and Belgrade.
“There is conclusive evidence that all 45 suspects are guilty of crimes related to terrorism, violation of the constitutional order, terrorist financing and money laundering,” Blelim Isufai, chief prosecutor of the Kosovo Special Prosecution Service, said at a press conference.
On September 24, 2023, police said about 80 gunmen entered Kosovo from Serbia in armored vehicles and barricaded themselves inside a Serbian Orthodox monastery in the village of Baniska in northern Kosovo, which is predominantly populated by Serbs.
Three gunmen and a Kosovar police officer were killed in the shootout, causing the remaining attackers to abandon their cars loaded with weapons, ammunition and explosives and flee on foot through the hills to Serbia.
Prosecutors said the group’s leader, former Kosovo Serb politician Milan Radosic, was also among the defendants. Radosic, who lives in Serbia, has publicly admitted his involvement in the shootings.
All the suspects are believed to be in Serbia and some are Kosovo citizens. They are unlikely to be handed over to Kosovo authorities as Belgrade does not recognise Kosovo’s independence and still considers it part of its territory.
Kosovo blames Serbia for the shooting. Belgrade denies it.
Earlier this year, global police agency Interpol issued international arrest warrants for 19 suspects, including Radosic.
The approximately 50,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo do not recognise Pristina’s institutions and regard Belgrade as their capital. They frequently clash with Kosovo police and international peacekeepers.
