Suspect in attacks on KFOR arrested in Zveçan, believed to have been a Serbian police officer

16.08.2026 – 19:15

Igor Markoviq is the person arrested on Sunday in Zveçan on suspicion of taking part in the attacks against KFOR members and Kosovo Police officers in May 2023.

According to a KP source, Markoviq is suspected of having served as a Serbian police officer and of entering Kosovo from Serbia through the northern region.

The Kosovo Police and the Special Prosecution Office had announced earlier in the day that the arrest was carried out on the orders of the Special Prosecution Office, following a series of investigative actions conducted by investigators from the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Serious Crimes. Initially, the detainee was identified only by the initials I.M.

The joint statement said he is suspected of the criminal offenses of “Assault on an official person,” “Participation in a crowd committing a criminal offense and hooliganism,” “Association for anti-constitutional activities,” and “Endangering persons under international protection.”

The authorities said I.M. was arrested in Zveçan following extensive investigative actions and is suspected of involvement in the May 2023 attack on KFOR members and Kosovo Police officers. The Special Prosecution Office and the Kosovo Police announced that they would take further steps in accordance with the law and the highest international standards.

The clashes in Zveçan began after local Serbs opposed the entry of the newly elected Albanian mayors into the municipal buildings in Zveçan, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok. These municipalities in northern Kosovo have Serb-majority populations, while Serbs had boycotted the May 2023 local elections.

In these clashes, 93 KFOR members were injured, some of them seriously.

Kosovo has held Serbia responsible for the events in Zveçan in early 2023, stating that they were carried out by “criminal groups close to the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vuçiq.”

16.08.2026 – 18:41

This update revealed the full identity of the arrested man: Igor Markoviq. He was detained on Sunday by the Kosovo Police, on the orders of the Special Prosecution Office, as a suspect in the May 2023 attacks on KFOR members and Kosovo Police officers in Zveçan.

The criminal allegations against Markoviq include assault on an official person, participation in a crowd committing a criminal offense and hooliganism, association for anti-constitutional activities, and endangering persons under international protection.

16.08.2026 – 16:28

Investigators from the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Serious Crimes arrested a person with the initials I.M. in Zveçan on Sunday, acting on the orders of the Special Prosecution Office.

The Special Prosecution Office and the Kosovo Police explained in their joint statement that the arrest followed a series of investigative actions. According to the statement, I.M. is suspected of attacking KFOR members and Kosovo Police officers in May 2023.

The institutions said they would proceed with the necessary procedural steps in accordance with the law and international standards.