Two ethnic Serbs were injured by gunshots from a car in southern Kosovo on Friday. A little later, the police arrested the suspected shooter, a 33-year-old soldier from the Kosovo security forces, media in Pristina reported on Saturday, citing the police.
He is suspected of attempted murder. The two victims – a 21-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy – underwent surgery at the hospital and are out of danger.
Kosovan President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti condemned the act. The incident happened in the village of Gotovusa near the southern Kosovan town of Strpce. According to their calendar, the orthodox Serbs celebrated Christmas Eve on Friday. Serbs live in the area around Strpce.
The vast majority of the population in Kosovo is made up of Albanians. The former Serbian province declared itself independent in 2008. Serbia has not recognized this step and claims the territory of Kosovo for itself.
Tensions between Serbs and Albanians, especially in the north around the divided city of Mitrovica, repeatedly arise, fueled by Belgrade. At the end of 2022, militant Serbs erected barricades in a dozen places in northern Kosovo, which, among other things, blocked the access routes to two border crossings to Serbia. Incidents in the Serbian settlement areas outside the Mitrovica region are rather rare. (dpa)
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