Serbia blames Kosovo for the murder in Lloznica

Faton Hajrizi, who escaped from Smrekonica Prison two weeks ago, is suspected of being behind the murder of a policeman and the wounding of another in Lloznica, Serbia. Three people have been arrested so far. Serbian officials said that it was a planned attack by the Kosovo authorities, and Prime Minister Albin Kurti described it as an incident, which he called for not to be politicized.

A Serbian policeman was killed on Thursday morning in Lloznica of this country, and it is suspected that he was shot by Faton Hajrizi, who escaped from Smrekonica Prison two weeks ago.

Nikola Krsmanovic, 34, is suspected to have been shot, while his colleague, Ilić Vjekoslav, was seriously injured, after they stopped a car in the western town in Serbia, on the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Ministry of the Interior of Serbia issued a notice, according to which a passport of the suspect, issued by the Kosovo authorities, with the name of Artan Hajrizi, and another German identification document was found at the scene. As a result, it was initially suspected that he had committed the crime. But during the appearance in some media, Artan Hajrizi denied this and proved that he is in Germany. According to his version, after the escape, Faton Hajrizi, who has a brother, went to his apartment and stole his documents, some of which were found at the place where the murder took place.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, did not exclude the possibility that Faton Hajrizi used false documents, but denied his brother's claims that he has been in Germany.

"The person who has the documents in our police, Artan Hajrizi, today at 11:55 a.m. declared to the Hanover police that yesterday his brother Fatoni stole his personal documents in his apartment in Hanover. It is a classic lie, because according to what logic does a person from Hanover return illegally to Preševo ​​and try to go again illegally to Germany? This clearly shows that it was agreed earlier and that it is an organized act", said Dacic.

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So far, three people have been arrested: In Serbia, the driver of the taxi in which the suspect for the murder was in was handcuffed, and in the Republika Srpska of Bosnia, where Hajrizi is suspected to have escaped, to two others who are suspected of having arranged the trip his to a third place.

"In Bijelina, in the afternoon, in cooperation with the Police of the Republika Srpska, RZ (1985) was arrested, who is suspected of having organized the transport of the murderer from Presheva to Lloznica. His RI wife was also arrested as an accomplice," said Dacic.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior, the case happened around 00:55, when police officers, while checking cars at a checkpoint in Lipnički Shor, stopped a "Mercedes" car with license plates Tutin of Serbia, in which there were two people.

According to the Ministry, one of the persons then shot police officer Nikola Krsmanović in the chest, and police officer Vjekoslav Ilić in the shoulder, and then ran away.
Both police officers were transported to Lloznina Hospital, and Krsmanović died from his injuries. 

After the event, numerous Serbian police forces were seen in the streets of Lloznica, while the gendarmerie was also mobilized. Drones and helicopters are involved in the search operations. Similarly, the authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Hajrizi is suspected to have fled, are also on the lookout.

The politicization of murder

Serbian authorities have blamed Kosovo for the incident.

Dacic said that there are doubts that the case was planned by the structures of Kosovo. He emphasized this, while the authorities in Belgrade believed that the act was committed by Faton Hajrizi's brother, who is in Germany, and whose documents were found at the scene.

"This cannot be an accident and the Prosecutor's Office for organized crime will deal with it, because the policemen were attacked in the line of duty", he said. "The German police has also been contacted. His brother escaped from prison in July. He killed a Russian soldier. I think that it cannot be by chance that the act is organized".

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He repeated the accusation later.

"The consequence of that act and terrorist organization is the killing of a policeman, and for this we demand and expect full cooperation with the German police and with EULEX and not lies that no one believes," Daçić said.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti called on Serbia not to politicize the murder, and said that the authorities are receiving information.

"The security bodies are collecting the information and I asked you to carefully read the communiqués of the Police, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I also expect them to give their professional statements, because we believe that this issue should not be politicized, but treated as such, from the point of view of security, legal and professional", Prime Minister Kurti said.

Faton Hajrizi, who has escaped from prisons in Kosovo for the ninth time, has been in prison for almost the entire post-war period. Initially, he was convicted for the murder of a Russian soldier in Skenderaj, and then for a number of attempted murders and armed robberies. During the time he has been on the run, he has made several public appearances on social networks, during which he has accused but also mocked the current government.

Appeal for Kosovars

After Thursday's case, Kosovo's state institutions have called on citizens to be careful when passing through Serbia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has announced that they will inform the public about the developments.
In response, the killing was qualified as an incident.

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"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora through the Liaison Office in Belgrade is closely following the developments regarding the claims of the Minister of the Interior of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, about an incident on the highway near Lloznica in Serbia, where he claims that a Serbian policeman and involved in this case, according to him, is a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora will keep public opinion informed about this case and appeals to emigrants and citizens of Kosovo to increase caution when passing through Serbia, and according to the assessment of the situation, to avoid movement through Serbian territory," the communiqué states. of the MFA.

Serbian state authorities, according to Serbian media, have increased the number of police forces on the streets. The gendarmerie has also been mobilized, while roadblocks have been set up in various streets in order to locate the suspect.