Kosovo blames Serbia for the explosion that interrupted the supply of water and electricity!
Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Friday's explosion in Vragë, 60 kilometers north of the capital Pristina, cut off water supplies to several towns and major power plants. It followed two other explosions in the previous days at police station buildings and local authorities in the same area in the north of the country, mainly populated by the ethnic Serb minority.
Kurti blamed "official Belgrade and its criminal structures led by Milan Radoicic, supported by Serbian institutions and the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic."
Radoicic, a wealthy politician and businessman with ties to Serbia's ruling populist party and Vucic, was among 45 people charged in Kosovo in connection with a gun battle last year in which a Kosovar police officer was killed. after an incursion by heavily armed Serb gunmen.
Only three Serbs have been arrested and others are at large, including Radoicic, whom Pristina says is protected by Belgrade.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric condemned Friday's blast but also criticized Kurti's "ethno-nationalist regime" which is quick to "point the finger at Belgrade without proof".
"We believe that such premature accusations are a deliberate diversion," said Djuric. "These baseless accusations undermine efforts for constructive dialogue and serve only to escalate tensions in an already delicate situation."
The European Union and the United States strongly denounced the explosion and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
"These violent actions have no place in a democratic society and those responsible for these criminal attacks against the legitimate authorities of the Republic of Kosovo must be held accountable," said the US Embassy in Pristina.
Kosovo-Serbia relations remain tense despite the efforts of the international community to normalize them.
Kosovo was a Serbian province until a 78-day NATO bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo that left around 13,000 dead, mostly ethnic Albanians, and drove Serbian forces. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which has not been recognized by Belgrade.
Brussels and Washington are calling on both sides to implement the agreements that Vucic and Kurti reached in February and March of last year. They include a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority. Serbia is also expected to achieve de facto recognition of Kosovo, which Belgrade still considers its province.
NATO-led international peacekeepers, known as KFOR, have increased their presence in Kosovo following last year's tensions.
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