Attack on a crucial canal: Kosovo accuses Serbia, several arrests

Several people were arrested on Saturday in Kosovo, where security measures around “critical installations” were reinforced after an explosion which damaged a vital canal for the water supply of thousands of inhabitants and two thermal power stations. Pristina immediately accused Serbia of having “orchestrated” this ” attack “which Belgrade denied.

The explosion left a gaping hole in one of the concrete walls of the Ibar-Lepenac canal which supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands of residents of northern Kosovo and part of the capital, Pristina. This water is also essential for cooling two thermal power plants whose shutdown would plunge the entire country into darkness.

“About a quarter” water supply was assured on Saturday morning, announced the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, visiting the scene of the explosion, where he also announced several arrests, and once again accused Belgrade.

At the police station “carried out searches and arrests”et “collected testimonies and evidence, criminals and terrorists will have to face justice and the law”he said.

“We hold Serbia responsible”he insisted.

In a first press release after a Security Council meeting in the night, the Kosovar government had already affirmed that “early indications suggest” that this explosion was “orchestrated by the Serbian state, which has the capabilities to carry out such a criminal and terrorist attack”.

In this context, the Security Council has “approved additional measures to enhance security around essential facilities and services, such as bridges, transformers, antennas, lakes, canals, etc. »specified the government.

The surroundings of the canal have been protected since Friday evening by Kfor, the NATO force in Kosovo, the organization said in a press release.

Calls for calm

As of Saturday morning, Serbia rejected any responsibility for the explosion and condemned “attack with the greatest firmness”denouncing a “unacceptable act of sabotage”.

“We call on all parties to resist provocations and to prioritize dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation”underlined on the social network X the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Djuric, while implying that the « régime » kosovar could be “potentially involved” in the attack.

The « destruction » of the canal was also denounced “with the greatest firmness” by the main political party of the Kosovo Serbs, the Serbian List, close to Belgrade.

“We want to make it clear that this act goes absolutely against the interests of the Serbian people and we call on Kfor (the NATO force) and Eulex (the European police and justice mission) to carry out an investigation in emergency »the party said in a press release.

Calls for calm have increased since Friday evening.

Aivo Orav, the head of the European Union delegation in Kosovo, denounced on the social network “the attack (…) which deprives a large part of Kosovo of water”. “I have already offered EU assistance to the Kosovo authorities. The incident must be investigated and those responsible brought to justice”he added.

“I totally agree”commented on X Miroslav Lajcak, the EU representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “Those who sabotaged critical infrastructure in Kosovo must be held accountable”.

The United States, through its embassy in Pristina, also strongly condemned “attack on critical infrastructure” and France did the same, calling for an investigation that will allow “bring those responsible to justice”.

Turkey in a statement called on all homelands “to avoid escalation”and offered aid to Kosovo.

The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, for his part considered, while condemning a «act of sabotage»that it was time for the European Union to give new impetus to discussions between Kosovo and Serbia, which never accepted the independence of its former province proclaimed in 2008.

“The current format (of the discussions, editor’s note) has not produced the expected results and it is time for the dialogue to be treated within the framework of bilateral relations between the EU and Kosovo or Serbia, which are one like the other of independent states »he wrote on X.

Relations between Belgrade and Pristina have never been peaceful since the end of the war in 1999, and tensions regularly spike, particularly in northern Kosovo where a large Serb community lives.

Friday’s attack follows a recent rise in tension and a series of incidents in the north, including grenades thrown at a municipal building and a police station earlier this week.

They come as legislative elections are due to be held on February 9 in Kosovo.