Where shock-babes are entering northern Kosovo

In recent weeks, several incidents have been recorded in the northern part of Kosovo, where what is thought to have been shock-babes have been used.

On the 22 June evening, there were two explosions in northern Mitrovica, while the deputy director of police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, has suggested they may have been caused by the same kind of weapon.

Kosovo police have not provided information on the origin of these explosive devices in official reports, in which cases are reportedly being investigated.

Former Kosovo Police Director Rashit Qalaj has told Radio Free Europe that these explosive devices -- not considered destructive, but that produce an extremely large noise misleading the senses -- are illegally introduced in Kosovo through various mountain paths.

The “undoubtedly those vehicles have been brought to Kosovo illegally, via alternative roads, located in the north. It's very easy for these things to behave, since it's difficult to control the ground in that box”, it's expressed.

In addition to continuing smuggling that exists, individuals and specific organised crime groups, in co-operation with Serbian forces, bring in these devices, which are disturbing residents, and in particular the security organs”, has declared the Daily for REL.

In northern Kosovo, Qalaj has said, there are problems with order and with the law.

In particular, with the situation currently created, according to Qalt, it has become even more difficult to control the border line with Serbia.

The northern part of Kosovo, which borders Serbia, is considered one of the most affected areas of smuggling.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, through a writing on the social Twitter network on June 7th, has said hand grenades and shock bombs have been used in northern municipalities 29 May, produced and brought by Serbia.

Meanwhile, for two explosions of hand grenades that occurred in December last year in Northern Mitrovica, Kosovo police had announced that explosive devices had been used.

Security experts consider Kosovo's access to these explosive devices illegally in the country's north as well as the large number of illegal weapons.

Kosovo Security Sciences Professor Avni Islami has told Radio Free Europe that because of these weapons and other explosive means that are in municipalities in the north, security in that part of Kosovo is fragile, while violence can erupt whenever.

Kosovo's “Tendence for extending sovereignty and maintaining public order and calm in northern Kosovo is facing aggressive resistance from criminal groups there, precisely using various weapons, which are illegally introduced”, Islam has been expressed.

Throwing shocks and using weapons in the country's north shows that criminal groups have an extraordinary organisation with the state of Serbia, he has praised.

“Those weapons are being used by Serbia's specialised units, along with criminal groups, and all this makes the extent of the order and law in northern Kosovo difficult”, Islam has said of the REL.

Illegal weapons, serious problem

The number of firearms that is illegally in the hands of citizens is an outstanding problem in Kosovo.

A 2015 survey of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kosovo shows that citizens own about 250,000 illegal weapons.

According to the Kosovo Police, 1,473 illegal firearms, of various kinds, were confiscated in 2022, with about 30,000 ammunition from various calibres.

The penalty for illegal possession is determined under Kosovo's Penal Code, which envisions fines of up to 7,500 euros, or prison sentences of up to five years for illegal possession.

It also envisions a two - to ten - year prison sentence for illegal possession of four or more weapons, or more than 400 rounds.

Continued attacks on shock-bambas are taking place at a time when the situation is tense in Kosovo's north, in Serb-run municipalities.

Tensions began there on May 26th, when young Albanian mayors of northern municipalities, under the assistance of the Kosovo Police, entered municipal buildings amid opposition from local Serbs.

They culminated on May 29th, when in Zvecan Serb protesters clashed with members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Kosovo, KFOR. Dozens of people on both sides were hurt by the clashes.

On June 13th, Kosovo Police conducted an action in northern Mitrovica, where they arrested Milun Milenkovich, who allegedly was one of the event organisers in Zvecan on May 29th.

A day later, three members of the Kosovo Police ended up in the chains of the Serbian gendarmerie. Authorities in Pristina accused them in Belgrade of kidnapping police on Kosovo territory, while Serbia said they were arrested within Serbian territory.