At least 3 armed assailants killed by Kosovo police during hour-long confrontation

The police in Kosovo said on Sunday that they shot and killed three people who had guns and caught another person after a gunfight in the village of Banjska in the northern part of Kosovo.

The conflict between the police and 30 armed men started shortly after an attack that killed one police officer and injured another. The police said that some shooting is happening close to a monastery in the village.

Kosovo police announced on Facebook that three gunmen were killed. They also arrested two gunmen and four suspects. The suspects were found with illegal radios and are believed to be connected to a terrorist group.

The police say that things are still tense, but there are fewer attacks on officers.

Officials previously said they discovered tools, vehicles, clothes, as well as weapons and bullets of different sizes at a house where the attackers were staying.

The Kosovo Police is asking criminal groups to give up and turn themselves in to the authorities. They are also asking citizens to help the police so that the situation can become safe and peaceful.

The situation just got worse in a region where there is often trouble. Kosovo has mostly Albanian people, but in the north, the village of Banjska has mostly Serbian people.

Kosovo broke away from Serbia and became independent in 2008. However, Serbia does not accept this and considers Kosovo as a separate state. The people of Kosovo who are Serbs see themselves as being from Serbia. They consider Belgrade to be their main city, instead of Pristina.

Veton Eljsani, a deputy commander of the Kosovo Police, said that there were people with guns and uniforms shooting at them and they were shooting back.

On Saturday night to Sunday morning, a group of border police officers saw two large trucks without license plates in the way of a bridge entrance in Banjska. Police went to the area.

According to N1, when police officers got to the place, they were met with opposition and there was shooting. Sadly, one police officer died and another got hurt during the shooting. The police in Kosovo said that they were attacked with many guns, as well as hand grenades and stun guns.

On Facebook, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti called the shooting in Banjska a “terrorist attack” carried out by Serbian criminal gangs.

CNN has asked Serbia’s Foreign Ministry to provide a statement about the situation.

The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, said that his country did not have anything to do with the fight. He said that the men who were killed were Serbs from Kosovo.

The Banjska monastery is being looked after by the Serbian Orthodox Church. They said things are peaceful again at the monastery and the police have taken control of the situation.

The Raška-Prizren Diocese wants everyone to know that everything is fine at the Banjska monastery right now. “The people with weapons who broke into the gate earlier today have gone away. Now, the Kosovo police and EULEX are at the entrance and inside the monastery’s courtyard. ”

On Sunday, Josep Borrell, who leads the foreign policy of the European Union, strongly criticized the attack and requested that the situation be calmed down.

“I strongly condemn the terrible attack carried out by a group of armed people on police officers in Banjska/Banjskë in the north of Kosovo. Sadly, one police officer lost their life,” he stated. “The people who did the wrong thing need to be held accountable and punished by the legal system. ”

The fighting near Banjska Monastery is putting more innocent lives in danger. He said that these attacks need to stop right away.

The EU mission in Kosovo called EULEX is currently present and in regular communication with the authorities and KFOR, which is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, according to Borrell.

“He said that the EU and its member countries consistently ask all parties involved to calm down the situation in northern Kosovo. ”

Kosovo and Serbia have been having more problems in recent months. There were protests that turned violent in May because of controversial local elections. Many NATO peacekeepers were hurt during the fights.

People from Kosovo who are Serbian want more freedom and self-rule from the Albanian people who are the majority there.