SOUTH SERBIA: TWO ATTACKS PLACE REGION ON EDGE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000683 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (PETERSON AND COFFIN) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PHUM PREL PGOV SR SUBJECT: SOUTH SERBIA: TWO ATTACKS PLACE REGION ON EDGE Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Two armed attacks against Serbian and Albanian police targets in South Serbia in recent days have threatened to exacerbate the tenuous relationship between the ethnic groups. Unknown assailants attacked a Serbian Gendarmerie vehicle on July 9 and a police apartment building housing Albanian and Serb families on July ¶14. Local Albanian leaders denounced the violence as top Serbian leadership promised a proportionate, energetic response to counter these "acts of terrorism." The identity and motives of the attackers are not known. Continued small scale attacks and a heavy handed, increased Serbian police presence in this sensitive cross-border region could serve to increase tensions between Serbs and Albanians. End Summary. Attack on Serbian Gendarmerie -------------- ¶2. (U) A rocket-propelled grenade attack wounded two members of the Serbian Gendarmerie early on July 9 in the village of Lucane near Bujanovac. Both sustained non-life threatening wounds when their vehicle was hit by a single grenade. Shortly after the attack, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that the Interior Ministry would react "energetically" to any attack on its personnel and claimed that "certain terrorist groups and separatist leaders of Kosovo Albanians often use southern Serbia as the necessary reserve force for generating instability in the region." Accompanied by Dacic and Defense Minister Sutanovac to the Gendarmerie base near Bujanovac on July 10, President Tadic said that those responsible for the attack would be prosecuted as terrorists and that Serbia would respond to terrorist attacks in the future "with patience and determination." Tadic added that the leaders of the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medvedja needed to take some responsibility for the situation, as well as the international community "which is responsible for the security situation in Kosovo." Attack on Police Apartment Building -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In the early morning hours of July 14, a strong explosive device detonated in the backyard of an apartment building in Presevo. According to Sima Gazikalovic, a representative of the government's Coordinating Body for South Serbia, the device had been set in a garage on the side of the building occupied mostly by families of local Albanian and Serb police and Gendarmerie personnel, including the family of Avdija Bajrami, the Presevo Police Chief. Gazikalovic told us that broken glass from the blast injured an Albanian woman and a 12 year-old boy. Gazikalovic also mentioned that the strong detonation caused damage to the building's exterior and broke all the windows on houses and vehicles in the area. Police and Gendarmerie immediately blocked off the area and started to search certain houses in Presevo and several surrounding villages. OSCE officers monitoring the situation told us that by the morning of July 15 the police presence in Presevo had increased noticeably but that the atmosphere was calm. Albanian Leaders Condemn Violence -------------- ¶4. (U) Riza Halimi, the only Albanian MP in the Serbian Parliament, and Skender Destani, President of the Presevo Municipal Assembly, immediately denounced the violence. Following the second attack, Halimi called on the government to prevent an escalation of violence and appealed to state authorities to find the perpetrators. Destani denounced the Presevo attack and also called upon state authorities to respond immediately. Belgrade Sees Terrorism, Promises Responsible Response -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Milan Markovic, Minister for Governance and Local Self Government, said that all indications were that the July 14 blast was an act of terrorism aimed at scaring local residents. Markovic, who also serves as president of the Coordination Body, added that he could not link the July 14 attack with the previous attack on the Gendarmerie but would await the results of an investigation. Dacic and other senior police officials visited the bomb site on July 14 and stated that the explosion in Presevo was "a classic example of an act of terrorism that requires a firm response from the State." MFA Political Director Borko Stefanovic promised the Charge on July 15 that Belgrade would pursue a "constructive response" and would not overreact. He added that the incidents were "terrorist acts" but BELGRADE 00000683 002 OF 002 that Serbia would be careful not to conduct a disproportionate response that would upset peace and stability in the region. ¶6. (SBU) Dacic announced at a July 14 press conference in Vranje that the level of security had been increased, and that the police would undertake additional measures to maintain law and order in South Serbia and protect the all citizens in the region, regardless of ethnicity. Dacic said that a police action had been launched to crack down on illegal trafficking of weapons from Kosovo; he appealed to EULEX and UNMIK to "prevent the transfer of terrorist activities from Kosovo to South Serbia." EULEX sources in Belgrade told us on July 15 that EULEX had not received any specific request for assistance or information pertaining to the investigation from Serbia's Interior Ministry. (Later in the day, Serbian police announced the discovery of a large arsenal of weapons and explosives found in a house in Presevo and arrested an ethnic Albanian man on charges of smuggling weapons, ammunition, and military equipment from Kosovo.) Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The recent uptick in violence in South Serbia, following years of peace, is troubling and has created anxiety among the Serbian and Albanian population. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks and motives are unclear. If attacks continue and are met with a heavy-handed Serbian police response, the situation in this sensitive border area could become tense. The incidents highlight the need for stronger intelligence and police cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo. End Comment. BRUSH