This mediation led to their withdrawal into Serbia. The newspaper ‘Koha Ditore’ reported the development, citing a report from the Defense and Security Commission of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
“Kosovo authorities believe that potentially hundreds more fighters were hiding in the forests between Banjska and the Serbian border and they discovered a large cache of weapons capable of inflicting significant damage and casualties – this included anti-tank rocket launchers, mortars and grenade launchers, anti-tank mines and 24 vehicles (one armored)” the report stated.
The document noted that “at the core of the dispute are two key issues: Serbia’s non-recognition (and active international campaign against recognition) of Kosovo’s statehood and the ways and means of integrating Kosovo’s Serb minority population – particularly in the four northern municipalities bordering Serbia, where Serbs constitute approximately 90% of the population. The four municipalities are still partially under Belgrade’s control, while Kosovo seeks to assert sovereignty over the totality of its territory.”
In September 2023, a group of Serbian attackers breached the border into the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo and barricaded themselves inside the local monastery. The shooting claimed the lives of three out of the 30 fighters and one Kosovar policeman. Pristina characterized the attack as ‘terrorist’ and accused Serbia’s highest authorities of orchestrating it.
“We have evidence that the order for the terrorist attack on Kosovo was issued by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić,” said the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, in February 2024. “This has been confirmed by our most important ally and conveyed to NATO countries,” she added.
Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the former vice president of the largest party of Kosovo Serbs, the Serb List, which enjoys the support of Belgrade. Milan Radoičić gave his assurance that he did not receive assistance from the Serbian authorities in organizing the attack, nor did he inform them of his intentions. He was arrested in Belgrade and released the next day, subject to a travel ban preventing him from leaving Serbia.
On Saturday, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, sent a letter to all delegations comprising the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. In the letter, she warned that “granting Pristina the status of an associate member of the Assembly would undoubtedly be seen as a reward for the systematic violence and discrimination against Serbs living in Kosovo.”
On the agenda of the Assembly’s spring session, taking place in Sofia from May 24-27, there is a proposal, among other items, from Pristina to grant it the status of an associate member of the institution.
Following the NATO armed campaign in 1999, Serbia lost control over Kosovo and has refused to recognize its former province’s independence, declared in 2008. Kosovo is still home to a Serb minority, some of whom reside in the northern areas near the border with Serbia.
