Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla says police have arrested eight people after an explosion hit a canal that sends water to its two main power plants, an incident Pristina labelled a “terrorist act” by neighbouring Serbia.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic denied what he said were “baseless accusations” about Belgrade’s involvement in the incident, which occurred at approximately 7pm (18:00 GMT) on Friday near the town of Zubin Potok in the troubled north of the country, some 16km (10 miles) from the border with Serbia.
Somehow, we managed to fix the damage, arrest the suspects and confiscate a huge arsenal of weapons,” Svecla said during a livestreamed news conference on Saturday.
Police commander Gazmend Hoxha said those arrested “are suspected of inciting, organising and even executing these recent terrorist acts and in particular the one in the canal of Iber Lepenc”.
Hoxha said an initial investigation had shown that between 15-20kg (33-44 pounds) of explosives were used in the attack.
Kosovo police raided 10 locations, confiscating more than 200 military uniforms, six shoulder-fired rocket launchers, long weapons, pistols and ammunition, he added.
The police said most of the people arrested belong local Serb organisation Civilna Zastita (Civil Protection), which the government in Kosovo has declared as a “terrorist organisation”.
Earlier on Saturday, Serbia’s president denied the “irresponsible” claims made by the Kosovo government.
“Such unfounded claims are aimed to tarnish Serbia’s reputation, as well as to undermine efforts to promote peace and stability in the region,” Vucic said in a statement to the AFP news agency.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric had earlier suggested on X that the government of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti could be behind the blast, without providing evidence, and called for an international investigation.
Pictures from the scene published by local media showed water leaking heavily from one side of the reinforced canal, which runs from the Serb-majority north of Kosovo to the capital, Pristina, and also supplies drinking water.
Faruk Mujka, the head of water company Iber Lepenci, told local news portal Kallxo that an explosive device was thrown into the canal and damaged the wall of a bridge. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
He said the water supply must be halted to fix the problem as soon as possible, given the disruption in supplies to the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), the country’s main power provider.
“Serbia unequivocally demands responsibility for the perpetrators of this reckless attack,” Djuric posted on social media platform X.
Serbia was ready to provide financial and technical support to repair the damage to the canal, he said, “demonstrating our commitment to the welfare of all people in the region, regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation”.
Earlier on Friday, Kosovo police had increased security measures after two recent attacks in which hand grenades were hurled at a police station and municipality building in northern Kosovo where ethnic Serbs live. It was not clear if the incidents were linked.
The United States embassy in Pristina condemned the “criminal attack”.
“We are monitoring the situation closely … and have offered our full support to the government of Kosovo to ensure that those responsible … are identified and held accountable,” it said in a statement on Facebook.
Aivo Orav, the European Union’s ambassador to Kosovo, said the alleged attack was already “depriving considerable parts of Kosovo from water supply”.
Independence for ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo came in 2008, almost a decade after a rebel uprising against Serbian rule.
But troubles have persisted, mainly in the north where the Serb minority refuses to recognise Kosovo’s statehood and still sees Belgrade as their capital.
Tensions have spiked in recent months, with Kurti’s government seeking to dismantle a parallel system of social services and political offices backed by Belgrade to serve Kosovo’s Serbs.