Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Pristina continues seizing Serbian property in bid to raise tensions

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija issued a statement following the raid by members of the Kosovo Police and the so-called Forest Agency from Pristina on the premises of the “Ibar” forest management unit in Leposavic, part of the public enterprise “Srbijasume.” The Office condemned the action as yet another instance of “illegal seizure of Serbian property in Kosovo and Metohija,” aimed at escalating political tensions.

“Members of the so-called Kosovo Police, together with representatives of the so-called Forest Agency from Pristina, forcibly entered the premises of the ‘Ibar’ forest management unit in Leposavic, which operates under the company ‘Srbijasume.’ As the facility was locked, they broke in and entered by force,” the statement reads.

It further noted that no employees were present inside the building at the time of what was described as a “criminal and unlawful raid.”

According to eyewitnesses, the operation was carried out with a significant police presence, causing alarm among the local Serbian population—particularly since it occurred on Djurdjevdan (St. George’s Day), an important religious holiday.

The statement also reported that the police, further provoking the local Serbian community, removed the Serbian national flag and the sign reading “Srbijasume,” replacing them with a sign bearing the name of the “Provisional Institutions from Pristina.”

“This is yet another in a series of violent and unilateral acts by Pristina, continuing its illegal seizure of Serbian property in Kosovo and Metohija. It is clearly intended to stoke political tensions and to serve as a diversion for Albin Kurti’s ongoing political failures,” the Office declared.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija emphasized that it is well known that Kurti has unsuccessfully attempted eleven times to secure a parliamentary majority.

“Each time he suffers a political defeat, Kurti resorts to a well-worn pattern of unilateral and violent actions against the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, deploying heavily armed police forces to further his campaign of terror and intimidation,” the statement adds.

The Office called on international representatives to respond publicly and unequivocally condemn such actions by the authorities in Pristina, “whose aim is not normalization, but the escalation of tensions.”