The Serbian language media outlet "Alo.rs" published an article today (May 10) claiming that Albin Kurti will attempt to cause major incidents in the north of the Republic of Kosovo on May 28.
The Russian media outlet Russia Today, in its Serbian language service, also published an article yesterday (May 9) with the title, "Kurti threatens Mitrovica that he will repeat the pogrom (the eradication of Serbs)", claiming that on May 28, Albin Kurti and his regime could provoke major incidents, where members of the Kosovo police special unit will intervene.
For these claims, both the "Alo.rs" media outlet and the Russian media outlet do not provide any concrete facts or credible sources.
Links to articles published on Russia Today and Alo.rs:
Excerpts from articles published in Russia Today and Alo.rs:
By breaking into municipal buildings, where Albanian flags would be placed instead of the Serbian tricolor, Albin Kurti and his regime could provoke major incidents, where members of the special unit of the Kosovo police - Rosu, who are already present in northern Kosovo, would intervene.
Albin Kurti will attempt to cause major incidents in the north of the Republic of Kosovo on May 28, when its mayors take office, following illegal elections in which three percent of voters, mainly Albanians (a total of 13 Serbs voted), Alo! learns from intelligence circles.
A claim about a crisis in the north of the country at the end of May was also made by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. The Serbian head of state was careful to warn of a “major crisis” in the north of Kosovo, linking this to the swearing-in of the new mayors. When asked by journalists in Serbia what would happen on May 28, he said that he understood “that there is a plan to expel Serbs from Kosovo”. (here)
Vučić's claims are interpretations that are not based on any concrete facts.
The Serbian-language media outlet bases its claims on what it calls intelligence sources, without providing any additional information. The Russian media outlet also does not support its claim with any credible source or concrete development, except for its baseless interpretation.
The claim is related to the deadline for the swearing-in of the new mayors of the four municipalities in the north elected in the April 23 elections.
Furthermore, the new mayors of the four municipalities in the North have until May 28 to take the oath, otherwise they will lose their mandate. The EU has requested that the mayors not take the oath at all, while Kosovo considers that this request cannot even be made.
There is no development or plan that would support the claim that incidents are being prepared as claimed by Serbian and Russian-language media.
Analyze:
The Russian and Serbian-language media outlets do not provide any evidence for the claim that Kurti will attempt to cause incidents in the north by threatening to uproot Serbs.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info considers this claim to be a "conspiracy theory".
ASSESSMENT:
"Conspiracy theories" are media reports that disseminate a false or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event, or person, presenting it as part of or the result of a secret plan ("conspiracy"). A characteristic of these reports is that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause-effect relationships are established, without providing any credible evidence.