Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that a policeman was killed and another wounded in a shooting in a village in northern Kosovo early Sunday morning. He added that police shootings continue, "and that is why we asked Serbia to stop encouraging terrorist attacks in northern" Kosovo.
A policeman was killed and another wounded on Sunday in a shooting in a village in northern Kosovo, according to a Kosovo official.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post: “At the moment, shooting at our police with weapons of various calibers is still ongoing,” describing the incident as a terrorist act.
He added: "The attackers are professionals, wearing masks and heavily armed."
He explained: “Shooting at the police continues. This is why we asked Serbia to stop encouraging terrorist attacks in northern Kosovo.”
In a separate statement, Kurti indicated that the authorities are besieging at least 30 militants in northern Kosovo, calling for their surrender hours after a patrol was ambushed in the region, resulting in the death of a policeman.
He said in a press conference, "Our police forces are surrounding 30 professionals, soldiers or armed policemen. I call on them to surrender to our security services."
For its part, Kosovo police said that two heavy vehicles without license plates stopped early Sunday morning at a bridge in the village of Bangska, stopped traffic, and began shooting at police units that arrived “with an arsenal of firearms that included hand grenades and launchers.”
The country's president, Vjosa Assoumani, also denounced, in a post on the X platform, what she described as a terrorist attack by Serbian criminal groups.
In this context, European Union Foreign Affairs Officer Josep Borrell strongly condemned the "heinous attack" that targeted the police in Kosovo and resulted in the death of one of its members.
Borrell said in a statement, "I condemn in the strongest terms the heinous attack carried out by an armed gang against members of the Kosovo police in Baniska/Baniske in northern Kosovo, which resulted in the death of a police officer and the wounding of two others." "All facts related to the attack must be verified. Those responsible must face justice," he added.
Tensions escalated in May 2023 in northern Kosovo, following municipal elections in Serb-dominated areas, prompting NATO to decide to deploy 700 additional soldiers to a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo after 93 of its soldiers were injured.
The dialogue, launched in 2011 between Belgrade and Pristina, aims to normalize relations between the two neighbors in the Balkan region and find a mutually acceptable solution to the disputes within the framework of a binding agreement.
In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia, which was recognized by most member states of the United Nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Turkey, but Serbia still considers it part of its territory.
Thousands of French people demonstrate against police violence
French cities witnessed the participation of thousands of citizens in demonstrations against French police violence, in response to the calls of more than 100 French trade union and political organizations.
Tens of thousands demonstrated on Saturday against "police violence" in several French cities, including Paris, where three police officers were slightly injured in an attack that targeted their car.
More than 100 trade union and political organizations and other groups from working-class neighborhoods called for this demonstration, which also received the support of 150 film personalities.
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and the radical left-wing LFE party said that the number of demonstrators reached about 80,000, including 15,000 in the capital. The Interior Ministry statement indicated that the number of demonstrators exceeded 30,000 people in all French cities.
In Paris, clashes took place between demonstrators and police forces, after which the Ministry of the Interior announced the arrest of six people throughout France, accusing three of them of causing the injury of three police officers in the capital.
Demonstrators in Paris chanted slogans: “Police everywhere, no justice anywhere,” “No justice, no peace,” and “Justice for Nael,” in reference to the teenager who was killed on June 27 near the French capital at a traffic checkpoint.
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