REPORT: KFOR negotiated the removal of terrorists from Banjska. NATO presence still necessary

Eight months after the serious incident in Banjska in the north of Kosovo, where the police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed, as well as 3 Serbian terrorists, in the report to the International Crisis Group (ICG), for the first time it is said that KFOR officials have negotiated the departure of Serbian terrorists.

"KFOR officials negotiated the withdrawal of the rest of the group into the surrounding forests, where they disappeared. (ICG, 2024). Kosovo authorities believe that potentially hundreds of other attackers were hiding in the forests between Banjska and the Serbian border, and they discovered a large amount of weapons ready to cause damage and casualties. This included anti-tank rockets, grenade launchers, anti-tank mines and 24 vehicles (one armored) (ICG, 2024),” the report said.

In addition, the report also came out with some conclusions and recommendations for Kosovo.

It says that the lack of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is the most important factor of regional instability.

"The main international actors in the region are reacting to the development of the situation. NATO has adjusted its force structure in Kosovo – it has changed their deployment and added approximately 800 additional troops. The EU has adjusted its numbers on the ground as well. The EU and the United States have stepped up their efforts to bring Belgrade and Pristina to the table for a real agreement that they can sign and implement," the ICG report said.

The report as a conclusion and recommendation has suggested that the pressure on Kosovo and Serbia for a final agreement should be continued.

"First of all, NATO Allies, the EU and their partners must continue to exert appropriate pressure on Belgrade and Pristina to unlock the dialogue and find a way forward for the normalization of relations between them," it says. in the report.

The ICG has assessed that the presence of NATO troops in Kosovo is still necessary, given the evolution of events on the ground and in the region.

"Allies' attention to Kosovo cannot be ignored - more forces, properly positioned there, are a priority," the ICG report states, among other things.