Serbian List VP admits leading Kosovo attack, KFOR increases presence

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Sep 2023 20:42

Milan Radoicic, the Vice President of the Serbian List in Kosovo, admits involvement in the northern Kosovo attack emphasizing the decision to conduct the operation was his.

Kosovo police officers search restaurant and building in northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (AP)

NATO authorized additional forces to address the "current situation" in Kosovo, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday in a statement.

Stoltenberg also urged all parties to de-escalate noting that the "only way to resolve outstanding issues and reach solutions that respect the rights of all communities," is for Kosovo and Serbia to "engage in the EU-facilitated dialogue."

This comes after a Kosovo police officer was killed, in the northern municipality of Zvecan, on Sunday night, in a shooting. The incident occurred around 3:00 AM local time (01:00 GMT) near the village of Banjska and then moved to become a siege situation in a nearby monastery.

Milan Radoicic, Vice President of Lista Srpska, has confirmed, in a letter, his participation in the attack carried out on Sunday, September 24.

Consequently, Radoicic resigned from his position as the Lista Srpska party's vice president in Kosovo.

According to Radoicic, the incident was a "defense" operation aimed at the Kosovo authorities asserting that Belgrade and the authorities in Serbia had not been informed of the plan ahead of the operation, and neither were members of his party, Srpska Lista (Serbian List).

The former VP's statement noted that "I inform all persecutors of the Serbian people, from [Kosovo Prime Minister Albin] Kurti to his many foreign helpers, that I personally made all the logistical preparations for the defence of our people from the occupiers, and this act of mine had no other character or intention and has nothing to do with my previous political engagement."

"I hereby submit my irrevocable resignation as Vice President of Lista Srpska. I am ready to respond to the invitation of the Serbian authorities regarding these events. Long live Serbia. Milan Radoicic," the letter added.

In his letter, Radoicic also said, "I want to emphasize that we are not terrorists but fighters for the freedom of our people."

"I didn’t inform anyone from the government structures of the Republic of Serbia about this, nor from the local political structures from the north of Kosovo and Metohija, nor did I get any help from them, because we already had different views on the previous methods of resisting Kurti’s terror," he maintained.

In turn, Serbian President Alexander Vucic told TV Espanyol in an interview that Radoicic resigned from his position as VP of the Serbian List, a political party considered as "freedom fighters" by Serbia because he "does not want to further damage the Serbian List."

Kosovar Serbians, according to Vucic, also believe the Serbian List to be a freedom fighter movement.

In that context, Vucic considered the ongoing situation in Kosovo to be disturbing saying: "I don't know if what happened was a turning point. I am very worried because I know how aggressive Albin Kurti and Vjosa Osmani are. Especially when they believe that they have a lot of support from a part of the international community, and this worries and scares me."

Professor George Szamuel, a Senior Research Fellow at Global Policy Institute, and the author of the book "Bombs for Peace: NATO's Humanitarian War on Yugoslavia", told George Galloway during a segment on Mother of All Talk Shows, that "the violence that has flared in Kosovo is aimed at provoking another Nato intervention."

In late May, clashes erupted in Kosovo when local police forcibly installed new ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in several northern cities following municipal elections in April.

The elections were boycotted by the Serb community but were declared valid despite a voter turnout of less than 3.5%. The clashes resulted in over 50 Serbian protesters and at least 30 NATO peacekeeping troops sustaining injuries.

NATO deployed its KFOR forces in Kosovo in 1999 in a bid to maintain a foothold in the country under the guise of "maintaining stability" in the region. The force consists of troops from NATO member states, partner nations, and non-NATO countries.

EULEX, launched in 2008, is the largest civilian mission under the EU Common Security and Defense Policy and conducts monitoring, mentoring, and advising activities. The EU mission's current mandate is set to expire in June 2025.