Two Serbs, including an 11-year-old child, were shot and wounded on Friday January 6 in Kosovo by a member of the special forces who was arrested, authorities said, after several weeks of community tensions in the country.
The Kosovo authorities have denounced the attack, which comes a week after the dismantling of barricades erected in December by Serbs in northern Kosovo to protest against the arrest of a former Serbian policeman.
Kosovo police said in a statement that they had arrested "
a 33-year-old man
" in southern Kosovo, a former Serbian province whose independence proclaimed in 2008 was never recognized by Belgrade.
The incident took place near the small town of Strpce (south), populated mainly by the Serbian minority.
Two cousins, an 11-year-old and the other 21, were injured by gunfire from a fleeing car, according to the same source.
The lives of the two injured are not in danger, police said.
The motive for the attack was not immediately known.
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Police have not released the identity of the assailant, but Kosovan Defense Minister Armend Mehaj said he is a member of the Kosovo Security Forces, which handles emergency situations. emergency.
“
The suspect, AK, will be treated according to the rules and the law
,” assured Mr. Mehaj on his Facebook account.
The boy and his cousin were injured while carrying an oak tree, traditionally cut down by Serbian Orthodox people on Christmas Eve, celebrated across the Orthodox world on Saturday, according to a statement from the Serbian government office in charge of Kosovo. denounced an "
attempted murder
".
One was injured in the hand and the other in the shoulder, according to the same source.
Shortly after the incident, local Serbs blocked traffic on a regional road to demand the arrest of the assailant, Serbian national television (RTS) reported.
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Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti "
firmly
" denounced this "
attack on two citizens of Kosovo
" and promised that the suspect would be "
dealt with quickly and fairly
" by justice.
Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina are recurrent.
The situation worsened in December when hundreds of Serbs erected roadblocks and maintained them for two weeks on the roads leading to two border crossings with Serbia.
The Serbian army had been placed on alert, while Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic had said that the situation was "
on the verge of armed conflict
".