Kosovo says 3 border cops ‘kidnapped’ by Serbia; Belgrade says they crossed illegally

BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbian authorities mentioned Wednesday they’ve captured three “fully armed” Kosovo police officers inside Serbia close to their mutual border, whereas Kosovo police mentioned they’ve possible been “kidnapped” on Kosovo territory as they patrolled the realm.

The newest incident additional raises tensions between Serbia and its former province. Serbia had put its troops on the border on the very best state of alert amid a sequence of current clashes between Kosovo Serbs on one aspect, and Kosovo police and NATO-led peacekeepers on the opposite.

Kosovo police mentioned in a press release Wednesday that the three cops referred to as for help after that they had seen gunmen sporting masks on Kosovo territory close to the border north of the capital, Pristina.

When different members of the safety forces arrived on the location, they discovered an empty police automobile and suspected that the three officers had been “kidnapped” by Serb forces. Kosovo authorities didn’t present another particulars about why they imagine the officers had been kidnapped.

Serbian safety forces revealed pictures of three males in uniforms mendacity face down on a area on the sting of a forest, with machine weapons, different weapons and radio gear positioned close to them.

A video confirmed the three blindfolded and handcuffed males being led by Serbian officers to parked police vehicles.

Serbian state media mentioned President Aleksandar Vucic was knowledgeable in regards to the arrest and rapidly left a reception on the Russian Embassy in Belgrade.

Serbia’s chief negotiator with Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, denied that the cops had been kidnapped and insisted they had been “deep in Serbia’s territory,” and in full fight gear. He mentioned Serbia was prepared to supply proof for its assertion and referred to as for a world investigation.

He mentioned “the terrorist gang” was arrested “because they crossed the administrative line in full combat gear.”

Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla denounced the “kidnapping,” which he mentioned, “violates any agreement and is against international norms.”

The minister referred to as on the worldwide neighborhood “to urgently increase pressure on Serbia not only to release our police officers but also stop its provocations.”

Kosovo police have contacted NATO-led worldwide peacekeepers, often known as KFOR, and different safety establishments and worldwide organizations to name for the discharge of the officers.

The incident comes a day after Kosovo police arrested in northern Mitrovica – an space principally populated by the ethnic Serb minority – an alleged organizer of Serb protests within the nation’s north, together with one during which final month 30 NATO-led peacekeepers had been injured. Three cops had been injured within the operation.

Tensions in Kosovo flared anew late final month, together with violent clashes.

The tensions escalated when Kosovo police seized native municipality buildings in northern Kosovo, the place Serbs symbolize a majority, to put in ethnic Albanian mayors who had been elected in a neighborhood election in April after Serbs overwhelmingly boycotted the vote.

Serbia and its former province Kosovo have been at odds for many years, with Belgrade refusing to acknowledge Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. The newest violence close to their shared border has stirred fears of a renewal of a 1998-99 battle in Kosovo that claimed greater than 10,000 lives, principally ethnic Albanians.

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