New tension on the Serbia-Kosovo line: the police injured our citizen

Petkovic, in statements to the local media, stated that a Serbian citizen named Milan Jovanovic was injured by a firearm on the Leposavic-Mitrovica highway last night, “He is a taxi driver. “The Kosovo police shot him without warning,” he said.

Petkovic, who argued that Kosovo was trying to provoke the Serbs, claimed that the Kosovo police either blamed the Serbs or denied the facts.

Petkovic, claiming that the Kosovo police did not provide the footage of the incident, said: “(Kosovo Prime Minister) Kurti obviously doesn’t want peace, he doesn’t want to honor the agreement reached. “We are doing everything possible to maintain peace and security,” he said.

Announcing that Kosovo Serb representatives will meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on April 13, Petkovic said the meeting will take place in Raska, near the border with Kosovo.

Speaking to local media, Jovanovic said only Kosovo police were present in the area where he was injured: “I was on my way home from work. Suddenly I heard a voice and felt a pain in my shoulder. “I didn’t see who was shooting, but I’m not sure if there’s anyone else in that area besides the Kosovo police,” he said.

Local media also shared the information that Jovanovic was taken for surgery and his condition is stable.

THE KOSOVO POLICE MADE A STATEMENT

In the Kosovo police statement, it was said that one person was known to have been injured by a firearm in the north of the country at 11:48 p.m. local time, and an investigation was opened into the incident.

Emphasizing that all necessary efforts will be made to clarify what happened as soon as possible, the statement read: “Kosovo police were not involved in the injury with a firearm. We would like to reiterate that, as reported in the Serbian media, the country’s security personnel were not involved in any injuries in connection with the news that the Kosovo police injured one person.” It was said.

THE VOLTAGE DOES NOT END

Although Kosovo is recognized as an independent state by 117 countries, it is described as one of “Europe’s frozen conflict zones” due to ongoing ethnic tensions in the north and its inability to become a member of the United Nations.

Serbia considers Kosovo, which unilaterally declared its independence in 2008, as its territory.
Serbia and Kosovo, which clash periodically, are trying to find a common path for the normalization of relations and eventually for the two countries to recognize each other, within the framework of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process, which began in 2011 under the mediation of the European Union (EU).

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic agreed on a deal that would normalize relations between the two countries in negotiations that lasted about 12 hours in Ohrid, North Macedonia on March 18, mediated by of the EU. (AA)