Serbia arrested three Kosovo police officers on charges of trespassing, but officials in the breakaway region claim they were kidnapped.
"The terrorist group was apprehended at 12:38 p.m. (7:38 p.m. Hanoi time) in the Gnjilica village area of the Raska municipality, deep within Serbian territory," Petar Petkovic, head of Serbia's office for Kosovo and Metohija affairs, announced on June 14.
Serbian officials said the three Kosovo police officers were carrying automatic weapons and full military equipment, including GPS devices, maps, and other equipment when they were arrested. The village of Gnjilica is located about 6 kilometers from the border between Serbia and the breakaway region of Kosovo.
The separatist government of Kosovo has rejected Serbia's accusation that the three police officers were kidnapped. Kosovo police said the three officers, who belonged to a unit patrolling the border with Serbia, went missing after reports of masked, armed men infiltrating the separatist region.
Serbian security forces arrested Kosovo police officers on June 14. Photo: Serbian Ministry of Interior
Albin Kurti, the head of Kosovo's law enforcement, accused Serbia of kidnapping the three police officers in retaliation for the arrest of a Serbian militia leader in the breakaway region. Kurti said the kidnapping took place in the northern Kosovo city of Leposavic and demanded the "immediate release of the three police officers."
Serbia arrested three Kosovo police officers following a series of clashes in the breakaway northern region, escalating tensions in the area. Clashes between Serbian protesters and Kosovo police and NATO troops in the town of Zvecan on May 29 left dozens injured. NATO subsequently deployed hundreds of troops to reinforce forces in Kosovo.
Serbian residents in Kosovo boycotted the April local elections in the breakaway northern region, which allowed Albanian officials to control local councils despite voter turnout of less than 3.5%.
The Serbian community in the breakaway region also demanded the withdrawal of Kosovo special police, as well as the Albanian mayor whom they did not consider representative of their ethnic group.
Location of Kosovo and Serbia. Graphic: Britannica
Kosovo, with an area of approximately 10,800 km2, is a breakaway territory located southwest of Serbia. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia does not recognize it and claims sovereignty over the region. Kosovo has a population of 1.8 million, mostly Albanians.
Approximately 120,000 Serbs living in northern Kosovo do not recognize the government in Pristina. They remain politically loyal to Serbia, which continues to provide financial support to the community. Most Western countries recognize Kosovo's independence, but the breakaway region has not been granted a seat at the United Nations due to opposition from Russia and China.
Nguyen Tien (According to AFP )
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