Wrote: Festim Rizanaj
The Serbian media outlet “Politika” has published several articles that attempt to create a false narrative, presenting Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, as a destabilizing factor in the region. According to these articles, Kurti is allegedly developing a strategy to provoke armed incidents in the north of the country, with the aim of inciting destabilization and securing domestic political gains. Among other things, it is alleged that the bomb attack on the post office in Zvecan was part of an action coordinated by Kosovo institutions, in cooperation with an intelligence service from Europe.
These claims are not based on verifiable facts and do not provide solid evidence, they pose a potential risk for the spread of false narratives.
The narrative that Kurti is preparing a strategy to cause armed incidents in the north
Serbian daily Politics has published an article (March 31) signed by Dejan Spalović with the title “Controlled War against Serbia in Northern Kosovo.” The article claims that Kurti is preparing a strategy to cause armed incidents in the north in order to destabilize and secure domestic political support.
The article also raises allegations of "scenarios ofFalse Flag”, suggesting that Kosovo could provoke incidents to attribute to Serbia and justify further military action. According to the article, Kurti has not given up on the war option and plans to trigger a “controlled war” in northern Kosovo, an idea presented in Pristina in February, after the failure of Vetevendosje in the elections. The article speculates that he, during a meeting with a Western associate in the Government office, has asked the security services to draft scenarios for an operation known as a “false flag”.
In political and military contexts, a "false flag" attack can be an incident created intentionally to accuse an adversary and gain support for a counterattack. This concept is often the subject of conspiracy theories and propaganda.
There is no verified information about such a meeting mentioned in the article, and the newspaper does not provide any facts to support this claim. Speculations about a “controlled war” in northern Kosovo are not supported by evidence. Likewise, the claims about a possible meeting with Western collaborators and the request to draft “false flag” action scenarios remain unsubstantiated and unfounded.
The narrative that Kosovo is losing international support and the US will withdraw from the region
The article also claims that Kosovo is losing international support, with the EU and the US distancing themselves and reducing financial and diplomatic support for Kurti's government, while it is speculated that the US may change its military engagement strategy and withdraw from the region, creating a dangerous vacuum.
For more than 25 years, KFOR has provided security in Kosovo, but with signals from US officials of a possible reduction in the military presence in Europe, questions are being raised about whether American soldiers will remain in KFOR. In early March, the US Department of Defense announced that the position of US forces in Kosovo has remained unchanged. (here)
US General Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, reported to the US Senate on the security situation in the Western Balkans region, citing Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina as two countries with security concerns, while emphasizing that the US has deployed reserve forces in Kosovo to cope with increased tensions and has aimed to expand permanent forces in this country. (here)
Recently, the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, announced that around 270 peacekeepers from the operational reserves of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania have been deployed. (here)
Initially, the KFOR mission included about 50.000 troops, later increasing to about 4.600. More than half of the forces come from Italy, the United States, Hungary and Turkey. NATO has increased its presence in Kosovo through 2023, following rising tensions in the north, where the majority of the population is Serb. (here)
Therefore, it is not true that Kosovo is losing international support from the EU and the US, and that the US is withdrawing from military engagement in the region, creating a dangerous vacuum.
The narrative that the attack on the Kosovo Post in Zvecan is a secret operation by Kurti
According to a article published on April 3According to the Serbian daily “Politika.rs”, the bomb attack on the post office in Zvecan is presented as part of an operation organized by Pristina institutions, with the help of a European intelligence service, with the aim of creating an artificial crisis in northern Kosovo. The article also claims that the recent events against Serbs in the region are part of a “scenario coordinated by a single hand” that controls events for political purposes, citing as an example the placement of explosives in the Ibër-Lepenc canal, for which Pristina had accused the Serbs.
However, this article provides no concrete facts or evidence to support these claims, and remains within the framework of a conspiratorial and unfounded narrative. (here)
The Kosovo Post office in the municipality of Zveçan was targeted by an M-75 hand grenade attack at midnight on Tuesday (April 1). One of the grenades exploded at the moment of the attack, while the other was later neutralized in a controlled manner by Kosovo Police units. There were no injuries from this incident, while only material damage was reported. (here)
In a Facebook post, Kosovo Police said that one or several unknown persons threw hand grenades and that the anti-terror unit is “working intensively to discover the perpetrators of this explosion.” The State Prosecution has been notified of the case, which has been instructed to initiate the case as “causing general danger.”
The Deputy Director of Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, has stated that authorities are intensively investigating the grenade attack in Zvecan, but there is still no detailed information about the perpetrators. “I cannot provide details about the persons or group responsible for throwing the grenades, as this matter is still in the investigation phase, but I can confirm that we are treating it with full seriousness.” (here)
The Kosovo Post branch in Zveçan opened on March 27, the same day it opened in Zubin Potok – both municipalities in northern Kosovo inhabited by a Serb majority.
Last year (2024), attacks with explosive devices were carried out against two objects in Zveçan: Police station and the Municipality building.
In northern Kosovo, tensions have increased, especially after the implementation of the license plate decision began, leading to an increase in attacks on institutions and the closure of many parallel Serbian structures. As a result of the ongoing tensions, related to the efforts of the Kosovo Government to extend sovereignty to this part, a number of parallel institutions, including post offices and tax offices, have been closed in the four Serb-majority municipalities.