Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denounced on Sunday a “hybrid attack” against Serbia, accused the day before by Kosovar leaders of having “orchestrated” an attack against a crucial water canal for Kosovo, again denying any involvement .
“Yesterday, it was an attempted hybrid attack, big and fierce, that took place against our country,” Aleksandar Vucic said at a press conference, adding that Serbia had “no links” with the explosion and that she was conducting her own investigation.
Hybrid strategies consist of mobilizing, in peacetime, military and non-military means, such as cyberattacks, disinformation or sabotage.
This crucial canal for supplying drinking water and electricity to thousands of Kosovar homes was damaged by an explosion on Friday evening near Zubin Potok, in the northwest of Kosovo, a region mainly populated by Serbs.
Several tens of kilometers long, it has its source in the artificial lake of Gazivode (north-west) and supplies the cooling circuits of two thermal power plants in the region of the Kosovar capital, Pristina.
These plants produce more than 90% of Kosovo's electricity needs and their shutdown would plunge the country almost entirely into darkness. Water delivery was restored during the night from Friday to Saturday thanks to the installation of large diameter pipes in the canal, at the site of the explosion. The attack had no impact on electricity production but disrupted the supply of drinking water.
“Professional organizations specializing in these types of terrorist attacks are behind this. Serbia is the only entity with the capacity, means and interest to commit such acts,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused on Saturday. “We have no connection with this,” the Serbian president retorted on Sunday.
According to Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian authorities have “certain suspicions” about the identity of the sponsor and “certain elements about a possible author” of the attack.
For his part, the Kosovar Minister of the Interior, Xhelal Svecla, announced on Saturday evening the arrest of eight suspects, suspected of having participated in “criminal and terrorist activities”. The head of the Serbian government office responsible for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, indicated on Sunday morning that only “two people” were still in detention.
Kosovar police director Gazmend Hoxha said that “200 military uniforms, six grenade launchers, two rifles, a pistol, masks and knives” were seized by the police. Kosovo law enforcement officers have been deployed since the attack around “essential installations,” including bridges, transformers, antennas, lakes and canals, the government said.
