Third anniversary of the attack in Banjska, Albania demands full accountability

Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has demanded that the armed attack in Banjska of Zveçan, which occurred on September 24, 2023, where Kosovo Police Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed, be fully investigated and those responsible be held fully accountable.

In a statement posted on social media, the ministry emphasizes that even three years after the event, the demand for justice remains unchanged.

According to the statement, the individuals who took part in the planning, organizing, financing and executing of this violent act must appear before the justice authorities, and all the circumstances related to it must be fully clarified.

The Albanian Foreign Ministry assesses that the Banjska incident was not just an attack on Kosovo’s police forces, but also on the rule of law, peace, security, and the efforts to build long-term stability and normalization in the region.

Tolerating such actions without consequences would send the wrong message to those aiming to undermine peace through violence and intimidation, the statement further says.

The ministry underlines that without accountability there can be no lasting peace, lasting stability, or genuine normalization and reconciliation.

At the end of the statement it is stressed that justice is not, and should never be, an obstacle to dialogue; on the contrary, it is one of the essential foundations on which credible dialogue, mutual trust, and long-term reconciliation must be built.