Kurti on the attack in Banjska: Serbia tried to provoke a war, but failed

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Aljbin Kurti, said that Serbia tried to provoke a new war, but failed to do so, and that the Serbs who clashed with the Kosovo Police in Banjka were from the Northern Brigade and Civil Protection, and that their leader was ” little Prigozhin” Milan Radoičić.

In an interview with Sky News, he said that he requested from Belgrade that Radoičić be extradited to Pristina, and that he demanded from the international community security for Kosovo and condemnation of Serbia with sanctions.

“Despite the fact that they brought about 80 heavily armed paramilitary terrorists and criminals who came to the Orthodox monastery of Banjska and who killed one of our police officers, they wanted to start a new war, because they wanted to destabilize Kosovo,” Kurti said, adding that in they failed to do so.

According to him, the Serbian side will try it again, which is why it would be good for Kosovo to prepare “for similar attempts in the future”.

He said of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that he is a “notorious autocrat”, stating that this proves that it is impossible to carry out an attack in Banjska without his knowledge, Kossev reported.

“He prepared it and was part of what happened to us, by bringing the people who sit next to him at important meetings in Belgrade,” emphasized Kurti.

He also recalled the allegations of the Kosovo Police that most of the weapons seized in Banjska were of Serbian production.

“Our prosecutor’s office has evidence that they issued documents together with these weapons,” Kurti said, adding that he believes that Radoičić was arrested by the Serbian authorities due to international pressure on Belgrade.

“What we need now is for him to be tried in Kosovo, where he committed the crimes, he is a citizen of Kosovo as well,” said Kurti.

As he pointed out, the Serbian side wanted a “new Republika Srpska”, which he called “a creature of genocidal war”.

Kurti claims that an armed group of Serbs gathered around the Banjska monastery because they wanted to “give a religious touch to the conflict”.

When asked about Belgrade’s claims that Serbs are intimidated, Kurti said that Belgrade itself intimidates them, pressures them and threatens them.

“They must fear Belgrade, never me. I meet with them every day, but it is not easy for me to stop Belgrade from abusing them,” Kurti emphasized and asked the international community for “security for Kosovo on the border” and sanctions for Serbia.

“We need more soldiers of the peacekeeping mission who will patrol together with our police in the mountainous areas between the borders of Kosovo and Serbia,” Kurti said.

He also demanded that the Serbian army and gendarmerie, which are located near the territory of Kosovo, move away from there.

When it comes to dialogue, Kurti says that you can’t go back to regular activities, because after September 24, nothing is the same.