*The article from the Serbian language media outlet "Kurir.rs" was corrected after being edited by hibrid.info (see here corrected article)
*The article has been updated with the official announcement of Kosovo Police.
Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
Through articles in several media outlets in Serbia, it has been claimed that a group of "masked Albanians" attacked members of the Serbian Police in the security zone in the region known as "Madljika".
"Albanians attacked Serbian police in the land security zone", is the title of the Serbian language medium "novosti.rs", published on February 26.
"According to unofficial information, a group of masked Albanians attacked members of the MUP at around 3:00 pm in the Madljika area, in the land security zone, in southern Serbia. From what is known, the attackers fled towards the territory of the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija," it is stated in the content of the article, translated into Albanian.
Similar content was also reported by other Serbian-language media (see here, here, here and here).
According to some media reports, the attackers fired about 10 shots at the police patrol. It was reported that no police officers were injured.
What is officially known?
While the headlines state that it is about "Albanian attackers", the introduction to the text states that the claim is not based on official sources.
In the announcements or news section of the website The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) has not provided any information about such a case, at least until the moment of its treatment by Hibrid.info.
Some of these media outlets have reported that it is about "series of attacks on Serbian Police"Based on a claim made by some media outlets about 20 days ago that some "Albanians had shot more than 100 times at the Serbian Police". Even that content, Hibrid.info had treated it as unverified content. After treatment, the Serbian-language media outlet "kurir.rs" corrected the content.
The Ground Security Zone was an area created in June 1999 after the Kumanovo Agreement to end the war in Kosovo. It was five kilometers wide. At that time, an air security zone was also designed, 25 kilometers wide (See here).
Friday, February 27, Kosovo Police through a clarification He told the media that there is no evidence of such a case being recorded or occurring in the border area.
"The Kosovo Police (KP) clarifies and at the same time informs the public opinion regarding some misinformation published mainly in Serbian newspapers and media. Without prior verification, articles have been published that allegedly some masked Albanians set up roadblocks, then fired 10 bullets at the Serbian police in the Madljika area, as they call it in the Land Security Zone in southern Serbia. The Kosovo Police clarifies with full institutional responsibility that it has undertaken all necessary police measures, using all institutional verification forms, resulting in there being no evidence or official data for any such case recorded or occurring in the border strip of that area.", it is stated in the announcement of the Kosovo Police.
According to the Kosovo Police, the fact that the news of February 26 is similar to that of early February "increases suspicions of deliberate orchestration of the production of disinformation."
"So far, based on all available sources, there is no confirmation that such an incident actually occurred, both yesterday and on 05.02.2026. KFOR has also been notified of all actions.", reads the announcement.
Analyze:
Some Serbian-language media outlets have claimed without official sources that "masked Albanians" attacked the Serbian Police in the security zone.
The headlines present it as fact, but the text acknowledges that the information is unofficial. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has not published a statement on the case.
The incident is also linked to previous unverified claims of similar attacks.
Therefore, based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses these claims as "Unverified Content".
rationale
The "Unverified" rating is given to those informative contents that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which could not be verified due to certain circumstances (speed, lack of sources) during the publication of the content.