Kosovo honors police officer killed in Banjska attack — Balkan Insight
In the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, the memory of police officer Afrim Bunjaku, who was killed on September 24, 2023, was honored on the third anniversary of the attack by armed Serbs. Relatives, colleagues and politicians took part in laying the foundation stone for a future memorial to the police sergeant.
As Balkan Insight reports, one of the main suspects in the case, Milan Radoicic, the former vice president of the Serbia-backed Kosovo Serb party Serbian List, is in Serbia. He admitted responsibility for the attack, but, according to the publication, his transfer to Kosovo for trial is unlikely because Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence.
Statements by Kosovo authorities
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that three attackers were killed during the operation, three others are in prison, and the rest will, in his opinion, eventually face justice in Kosovo. He called the attackers a paramilitary terrorist group and claimed that the attack was organized, coordinated and financed from Belgrade.
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Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said that Bunjaku died defending the rule of law, the constitutional order and the security of citizens. He also called the events in Banjska the largest terrorist attack in post-war Kosovo and claimed that it was organized and supported by Serbia's state apparatus.
Sentences and charges
In April, the Basic Court in Pristina sentenced three Kosovo Serbs for terrorism and serious crimes against Kosovo's constitutional order and security. Blagoje Spasojevic and Vladimir Tolic, who were detained at the scene in military uniforms, received life sentences. Dusan Maksimovic, detained the following day, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. All three pleaded not guilty, although Spasojevic called his involvement in the events the biggest mistake of his life in his closing statement.
During the attack on September 24, 2023, dozens of armed Serbs ambushed a police patrol in Banjska. The 50-year-old Bunjaku was killed in the attack, while another police officer, Klirim Shakiri, was wounded. Three armed attackers were killed. In total, 44 individuals and one legal entity are implicated in the case; the main suspects, including Radoicic, remain beyond the reach of Kosovo justice.
