2 Serbians shot in Kosovo on Orthodox Christmas Eve, says Belgrade

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - A Serbian boy and young man were shot and wounded on Friday in southern Kosovo by Albanian extremists on Orthodox Christmas Eve, Serbia's Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"Serbian boys aged 11 and 21 were shot and wounded today by Albanian extremists in Kosovo while preparing for Christmas Eve celebrations," Nemanja Starovic, the ministry's state secretary, said on social media, claiming that Kosovar police let the perpetrators escape.

The Serbian government's office for Kosovo demanded urgent and decisive action from the international community over the incident.

It said that 11-year-old Stefan Stojanovic and 21-year-old Milos Stojanovic were walking on the side of the road and carrying a Christmas tree when their attackers opened fire.

The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7 for three days under the Gregorian calendar. Orthodox Christian Serbs in Kosovo gather in front of local churches on Christmas Eve to light yule logs before a midnight service.

"They suffered gunshot wounds: The boy was hit in the hand and the other in the shoulder, and by sheer luck they were not (fatally) injured, nor were their lives in danger," the Office said, adding that the injured were being transported to the Clinical Hospital Center in the town of Gracanica, just south of the capital Pristina.

The office argued that the attackers' intent was clearly to kill the Serbian child and young man, adding that local police released the vehicle from which the shots were fired, though several eyewitnesses saw the vehicle's registration. Large crowds of local Serbs gathered on the streets after the attack and blocked the road.

"This kind of attack is a direct consequence of the anti-Serb policy of (Prime Minister) Albin Kurti, who with his behavior and actions encourages all those who want Serbian blood, even on Christmas. We demand an urgent and decisive reaction from the international community," said the statement.

Kosovar police later announced that a man, 33, was detained as a suspect of the attack.

- Tensions with Serbia

Kosovo, predominantly inhabited by Albanians, broke away from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. But Serbia has not recognized the move and sees its former province as part of its territory.

Tensions have been simmering between the two Balkan countries, though they appeared to ease somewhat following the removal of barricades blocking the main border crossing between them.

Earlier, there had been a row about license plates, with the government in Pristina demanding ethnic Serbs surrender Serbian-issued vehicle license plates to replace with plates issued by Kosovo.

The EU, NATO, and US have called for de-escalation, while Serbia has requested to deploy its army and police based on a UN resolution.