Avni Islami: Belgrade is attempting to reshape the narrative surrounding the Banjska attack

On the anniversary of the events in Banjska, security expert Avni Islami responded to statements by Petar Petković, director of the so-called Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia.

In a Facebook post, Islami said that Petković’s statements aim to change how the attack in Banjska is portrayed, using, he said, methods of disinformation and asymmetric propaganda.

He assessed that Belgrade’s focus on the manner in which the three members of the armed group died serves to divert attention from responsibility for organizing, financing and arming this paramilitary formation.

According to Islami, the group directly undermined the constitutional order and security of the Republic of Kosovo, while Kosovo Police Sergeant Hero Afrim Bunjaku was killed in the line of duty during the attack.

The security expert also referred to Petković’s claims about “the execution of prisoners” and a lack of transparency, describing them as hybrid warfare tactics. According to him, these claims aim to portray the aggressor as the victim and undermine the credibility of Kosovo’s legitimate security and justice institutions, which led the operation in close cooperation with international partners.

Islami also said that questions about the role of EULEX or Serbian pathologists disregard the fact that Kosovo has full legal and professional sovereignty to conduct independent investigations in accordance with the highest European standards.

He added that efforts to portray and glorify the people who entered the north with heavy military weapons as “non-terrorists” show that Belgrade is not interested in the legal truth. Instead, according to Islami, the aim is to construct a dangerous political narrative that protects criminal structures and threatens long-term stability in the region.