Starovic: A whole series of questions about the tragic events in Banjska requires an urgent response

Nemanja Starovic, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, says that we now know much more about the events in Banjska than we did on Sunday and that the Pristina side is attempting to justify the causes of the tragic events, RTS reports.

Starovic stated that Sunday, September 24, had been one of the most tragic days in our recent history, marked by the most significant escalation of violence in Kosovo in the past 19 years.

"Given the objective limitations stemming from the well-known fact that the state authorities of Serbia have not had full effective control in Kosovo and Metohija since 1999, it was not easy for us to establish all the necessary facts. There is a whole series of questions that remain open, but even today we know much more than we did on Sunday or Monday," Starovic pointed out.

He noted that on the night between September 23 and 24, a group of Serbs had set up a roadblock in the area of the village of Banjska and that same night, there had been an attempt by the Kosovo Police to remove the roadblock, and an armed clash had occurred, resulting in the loss of a Kosovo Police officer's life.

"There is no justification for this murder; it needs to be determined who is responsible. However, based on what we know so far, the murder of a Kosovo Police officer was not the goal or intention of everything that was carried out by Serbian insurgents," Starovic emphasized.

He added that in the early morning hours of September 24, an extensive operation had been launched, involving several hundred members of the Kosovo Police.

"The attempt to resolve the situation on the ground in any kind of peaceful manner was rejected, and the order, based on what we know, was: 'kill them all,'" Starovic said.

According to him, in intense armed clashes from that morning onward, three Serbs lost their lives.

"For us, it is of particular importance to precisely determine all the facts surrounding how their deaths occurred, as there are credible testimonies indicating that in at least two cases, Serbs were killed after being wounded and surrendering their weapons. In at least one case, a Serb was shot with a firearm from a distance of less than one meter, in a manner resembling a classic execution," Starovic said.

Questions requiring answers

"This constitutes a grave crime, and that is why we appeal to everyone in the international community not to rush to conclusions regarding the tragic events in Kosovo," Starovic stressed, and he pointed out that all of us must make maximum efforts to precisely determine the facts.

"There are still several questions that require answers – why didn't KFOR mission members come to the scene and contribute to a peaceful resolution of the situation? Why wasn't EULEX allowed access? Did certain paramilitary formations composed of criminal elements, specially trained abroad, participate in this operation, and why is EULEX not taking a more active role in the investigation?" Starovic questioned.

He concluded that the Pristina side was attempting to justify the causes of the tragic events of September 24 in Banjska through their consequences.