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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Three Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija die in conflict with "Kosovo police"

Belgrade, 24 September 2023

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said tonight, regarding the shooting in the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, that today is one of the most difficult days for our country and our people since 2004 and 2008.

At an extraordinary press conference, while apologising to the citizens for not addressing this event earlier, Vucic explained that it took time to investigate what happened in the province this morning and in the afternoon.

He pointed out that last night, at around 2:46 a.m., a group of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija set up two trucks as barricades in Banjska, after which there was a conflict with the so-called Kosovo police, in which a Kosovo policeman was killed and another person was wounded.

The President said that, according to our information, three Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija were killed, two by sniper fire from a long distance, two were seriously wounded, and it is assumed that a fourth person was also killed.

According to him, at 8:57 a.m., the administrative crossings of Jarinje and Brnjak were closed, with continued shooting and skirmishes, and at 10:15 a.m., the Albanian authorities announced that four municipalities in the north are the zone of an anti-terrorist operation.

The President stated that our services followed and intercepted what the Albanian police were doing, and he showed some of the evidence, adding that he does not want to justify the murder of the Kosovo policeman in any way and that it is reprehensible.

Vucic reminded that he had warned in Brussels and New York that this could happen, but that few people wanted to hear and listen to those warnings.

The only culprit for everything that is happening in Kosovo and Metohija is Albin Kurti, Vucic said, emphasising that Kurti's only desire is to drag us into a war with NATO.

The President reported that the Council for National Security was also in session today and announced that our country will make decisions thoroughly and that it will go before the people of Kosovo and Metohija with them.

He called on the international community to form the Community of Serb Municipalities, to have Serbian policemen in the north, because, as he emphasised, this is the only way to ensure that the Serbs are not expelled and that there are no more conflicts.

We call on our people for peace and restraint and to believe in their country. It is up to us to try to preserve the peace, Vucic said.