Serbian authorities have reported that three members of Kosovo special police forces were arrested in Serbian territory on Wednesday while Kosovo claims the police officers were kidnapped, and the incident could trigger new tension instead of de-escalation urged by the USA and the EU. Pročitaj više

The head of the Serbian government's office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, told reporters that the three Kosovo police officers were arrested deep into Serbia's territory, in the village of Gnjilica in Raška municipality, claiming the Serbian police did not come anywhere near Kosovo territory and did not violate any international agreement.

The arrested police officers had on them automatic rifles and surveillance equipment, radio devices and maps.

Kosovo Minister of the Interior Xhelal Svecla, on the other hand, says the three members of the border police were kidnapped in Kosovo's territory, in the northern border area where they were patrolling along routes used by criminal groups for illegal border crossing and smuggling.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the Kosovo police officers were kidnapped in Leposavic, in the north of Kosovo, around 300 metres deep into Kosovo's territory, calling on the international community to “condemn that act of aggression by Serbia.”

Kurti suspects the police officers were kidnapped by the Serbian army in an act of revenge for the arrest of “the infamous criminal Milun Milenkovic, one of the leaders of organised crime and smuggling groups.”

Petkovic told reporters the Serbian side was willing to provide all evidence and called for an international investigation.

Petkovic suggested that Great Britain and the USA should show their satellite images of the area to prove that members of Serbian anti-terrorist police units did not enter Kosovo's territory and that the claims about the kidnapping were just Albanian propaganda.

Today's incident comes following unrest in the mainly Serb-populated northern Kosovo, which erupted in late May when Albanian mayors, escorted by armed police, entered town halls in four municipalities after Serb parties boycotted local elections that month, which saw a turnout of only 3.4%.

Thirty members of international peacekeeping forces and more than 50 Serb protesters were injured in the clashes.

The Kosovo police then arrested a Serb from the north of Kosovo who Svecla claims is one of the leaders of the Civil Defence criminal group and of criminal groups that had terrorised citizens for years and attacked Kosovo police and institutions.

Serbia and Kosovo in February this year accepted a European plan for the normalisation of relations which is also supported by the USA, and in March they signed an annexe on the implementation of that agreement but no progress has been made since due to constant tensions in Kosovo's north.

Belgrade accuses Priština of avoiding honouring its obligations under earlier agreements and insists on the formation of a Community of Serb Municipalities, which is what the USA and EU also demand from the Kosovo prime minister.

The office of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has prepared a set of measures against the Kosovo government and PM Kurti who are believed to lack the political will to take the necessary steps to deescalate the situation in the north of Kosovo, Radio Free Europe said earlier today.

EU spokesman Peter Stano confirmed today that Borrell shared with EU members a draft of the measures that should be taken if Kurti does not take adequate and urgent steps to de-escalate the situation and defuse tension.