Kosovo Police Reject Serbian Claims About Fire in the Bënjak Area

Reports published by several media outlets in Serbia claiming that the fire in Serbian territory, in the Bënjak area, was caused by Kosovo have been rejected by the Kosovo Police.

In its official response, the police described the claims as untrue and disinformation. It denied that the authorities of the Republic of Kosovo had used any weapon, while clarifying that police units had not reported any object or device being thrown from Kosovo’s territory toward Serbia, “Bota sot” reports.

According to the police, Serbian media speculated that a special weapon used exclusively to launch fireballs had been used to start the fire. The law enforcement institution rejected these reports, stating that the response was intended to provide accurate information and prevent the spread of disinformation.

The police stressed that Serbia had previously published false information directed against Kosovo. According to the institution, such reports are used for specific purposes and seek to portray the Republic of Kosovo to the international community as responsible for every negative phenomenon occurring primarily along the border area.

In order to properly inform the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo and the wider public, the police announced that Kosovo authorities had not used any weapon of the type presented in the media. In addition, no notification had been received from Kosovo Police units that anything thrown from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo into Serbian territory had been observed.

The Border Police continues to patrol and monitor the situation in the border area. In certain cases, these patrols are conducted jointly with KFOR units, while the relevant units will intervene whenever such action is deemed necessary for citizens and other relevant actors on the ground.

At the same time, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo will investigate every case for which there may be evidence that the danger was caused by human activity, regardless of the area or location where it occurred.

Finally, the Kosovo Police called on citizens and the media to rely only on official information and refrain from sharing unconfirmed claims. It warned that such reports could affect perceptions of security and cause unnecessary concern among the public.